Welcome to Safe Haven
by JC303
Summary: These are the events that take place after Future Generations but before 5 Years Later... Safe Haven is flourishing for King and his group, and things seem to be going just as they hoped... then they get a visitor they never expected and things change...
1. Chapter 1

**_I always wanted to write what happened between Future Generations and 5 Years Later... so here you guys go if you're interested on reading it._**

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><p><strong><em>Welcome to Safe Haven... Chapter One<em>**

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><p>Today was a muggy, foggy day at the harbor of Prison Island…<p>

"…Well, today we receive the new recruits…" Someone sat on the deck of the harbor this morning, leaning back in his chair a bit drowsily. He was a Spanish toucan, with his trusty Rapier at his side. Flamenco was his name… and being a guard at the harbor was his job. It wasn't as fun or as involving as the other jobs that the others had, but this job was good enough for him…

"...wonder how many are gonna show up." a female spider sitting next to him hummed, rubbing her arms in excitement. Her name was Marylin, but she preferred the shorter Lin.

"…_No se_," Flamenco shrugged, which of course in Spanish meant 'I don't know."

Meanwhile, the ferry was slowly coming toward the island. All of the recruits were chatting eagerly and impatiently about all the things they were going to do on the island. It was plenty lively and peaceful…

…at least, until everyone started to hear a sound that interrupted all the conversations going on.

"…Dude…is it just me, or is that a baby crying?" uttered a horse.

"...I think it is." a deer replied to that.

A cloaked figure sat on the side of the ferry, turning frantic because the sound of the crying baby came from this figure. They reached within the cloak and tried to do something about it so the crying would stop, but this only gathered attention from the other soldiers.

"Shut that baby up, would you?" yelled a gazelle. "What the hell, man?"

The cloaked figure was startled, but did all they could to try and fix the problem. The little bundle inside the cloak squirmed, but eventually the crying stopped, and the cloaked figure grew relieved.

"Ugh, _finally_. Thought that'd never stop..." a hippo scoffed.

"...I swear, if I hear something _that_ annoying again, I'm gonna punch someone..." a cougar murmured to herself.

The cloak figure became nervous, but at least for now, there wasn't going to be any violence again…

…that is, until that baby started whimpering. The cloak figure grew panicked again and tried to calm the little bundle, but the bundle decided to be fussy.

"...didn't we tell you to shut that kid up?" the cougar growled.

The cloak figure tried harder, but the bundle wouldn't have it. It started crying again, which cause annoyed grunts and groans from everyone else around her.

"Now see here, are you going to make it be quiet, or am I going to have to do that?" the horse growled, stomping toward the cloaked figure that looked scared now.

"...whatever you do, be quick about it." the gazelle scoffed.

"Hey, I'd leave her alone if I were you." Just like that, a group of five hounds gathered together and stood between the soldiers and the cloaked figure, to her surprise. The one that was talking was a bloodhound with a big smirk on his sagging face, underneath a black cowboy hat. "After all, it isn't nice to take out that nasty temper on other people…"

"Who the hell brings a baby to Safe Haven?" the horse growled. "It's a warrior nation! Not a freakin' nursery!" A smaller figure hiding among the crowd flinched upon hearing that.

"Well, different strokes, different folks, as they say," a Doberman wearing a large coat mused.

"I don't care what strokes floats your boat; it's goddamn annoying, is what it is!" the hippo groaned.

"...then plug your ears." a bulldog chuckled, shaking his head.

"Oh, I don't think so!" growled the horse. "I ain't adjusting just for some little brat!"

"Then we can 'adjust' the way you look," exclaimed a younger bloodhound that looked like the first one, "because frankly, you're an ugly sight for sore eyes!"

"Was that a threat, kid?" roared the horse.

"...no, it was a suggestion." the bulldog scoffed, before he approached the horse. "_This_ is a threat." And he proceeded to calmly, yet fiercely, head butt the horse.

That seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back, because right after the horse stumbled backward from that, he yelled and that was enough for the other soldiers to get right up and fight against the five hounds. The cloaked figure quickly got up and ran out of the way right as the other bloodhound was thrown into her seat, breaking it.

"Damn, this is some brawl," he chuckled in amusement, spitting out a little blood from his lip. "Let's go!" and he ran back in. While the cougar, gazelle and hippo were viciously trying to fight the hounds, the smaller figure took this chance to slip away as well.

That was when the ferry was beginning to roll into the harbor, and when they saw the ongoing fistfights, Flamenco shook his head. "Aye…not again…"

"...well, it happened last year too, so..." Lin shrugged, before she stood up. "...let's see if we can't join in!"

"_Que_?" Flamenco looked absolutely baffled at the idea.

"Sorry, that's not your guys' job." Flamenco and Lin looked back, seeing some of their bosses walking down the hill. One of them was a tall, gruff wolf named Hunter, chuckling; "Another brawl huh? These seem to be a regular thing now!"

"I'll start to laugh if this happens next year as well." a dark raven, whose name was Sage, mused with a chuckle.

"...King." a black bear named Queen commented, glancing at the tiger walking with them. "Do you plan on stopping this?"

"Yeah, yeah..." King nodded, before he suddenly clapped his hands together, creating a thunderclap that would get the attention of the new recruits.

Everything stopped, and all the recruited made a startled jump, looking over at the harbor which the ferry was now stopping by and opening up its doors to. The cloaked figure stared at those standing at the harbor, startled as well, but not because of the thunder clap… but at the ones that were standing there.

Since the ferry finally stopped, various soldiers shoved their way through to disembark off of the ferry in front of King. Four hounds were shoved to the front of the line, slightly beaten up from the fighting but other words, perfectly fine.

"...you five started it?" King assumed.

"...they got us to start it," the bulldog corrected.

"Who are you guys?" Hunter asked curiously.

"Name's Cowpoke," introduced the bloodhound, tipping his cowboy hat.

"I'm Mud-Pie!" introduced the younger bloodhound. "…and…don't ask about the name. You don't want to know."

The other one, Cowpoke, only laughed. "It's a funny story. See, Mud-Pie's my son, actually (and believe it or not, the name was my idea), but that's not all of his embarrassing tales."

"Dad!" wailed Mud-Pie.

Cowpoke only chuckled. Then he looked at the other hounds. "And these here are good buddies of mine."

"My name's Rott." the doberman replied.

"...Merde." the bulldog huffed.

"...hm." King hummed, folding his arms.

"…hey, where's Smokey?" Cowpoke muttered, looking around.

"Here."

A tall pug walked his way through the soldiers with an ugly, angry look in his eye, and every time he growled at the soldiers, they scooted away timidly.

"There you are," Cowpoke chuckled, when Smokey made it to them. "Smokey here's a man of few words, but he's a big guy, you know? He's been able to hold his own in anything…"

"...wait, isn't Merde the big guy?" Rott uttered, tilting his head.

"Smokey's bigger." Merde replied dryly.

Cowpoke looked back at the ferry, seeing that cloaked figure was still standing there. Eventually, the cloaked figure finally got the courage to walk down off of the ferry, and numerous soldiers gave her annoyed looks. She grew timid, enough that Cowpoke had to shove his way through the soldiers so that he could lead her through them without a lot of trouble.

Then when Cowpoke brought her closer to King, she started to hesitate and pull away. Cowpoke noticed this and stopped, looking at the cloaked figure. "…something wrong?"

The figure only looked at King, Queen, Hunter and Sage, shaking.

"Who's that?" Hunter asked.

"She's the reason the brawl started, you see," Cowpoke tried to explain, but then the cloaked figure pried away from Cowpoke to his surprise, and still stared at the four Mobians standing there.

"...is something the matter?" King hummed, before he glanced at Sage. "You pick up anything?"

Sage, however, was silent, as she kept looking at the figure. "...Flamenco, Lin, you two get the soldiers acquainted with the place. King, Queen, Hunter... let's take her with us." While this was going on, a smaller figure managed to slip unnoticed by the others, running off into the woods...

Cowpoke understood a little bit, and he nodded at them. "Take good care of her," he said, just as he took his son and followed his buddies with the crowd of soldiers that went away.

Hunter only gave Sage a shocked look. "Sage, what's going on? Why are we taking this woman with us?"

"...I'll tell you once we get to the pub. Ani, Miser and Ripper need to know as well." Sage murmured, before she began walking off.

"...hm." Queen hummed, before she looked at the cloaked woman.

The cloaked woman then glanced at the ground, but she followed Sage.

"…okay…this is weird," Hunter murmured, walking after them.

"You're telling me..." King murmured, as he walked after them as well.

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><p>There was a pub somewhere in a little town that was built near the harbor; a resting place for recreational activities for the soldiers to drink and talk about gossip. There was a little huskywolf hybrid girl sweeping the pub inside, feeling bored. "Man, I wish I had the guys to play with," sighed little 13 year old Anistasia Symphony.

"...you plan on visiting them?" Sitting on a stool by the counter was a rhino, named Miser, who tilted her head curiously.

"It could be good for both you, them and us, kekeke!" a praying mantis chuckled from one of the tables; Ripper.

"…yeah, they need to see what Safe Haven's like!" Ani said. "After all, I'm sure they'd have a blast exploring the place!"

"I wouldn't doubt it..." Miser mused with a slight smile.

The door opened, and Ani turned to smile at her dad and the other bosses of Safe Haven. "Hi guys!" she greeted them. "How many recruits was there this time?"

"...more than last time." Queen replied.

"...everyone's here..." Sage mused, before she sighed. "...listen, this is really sudden, so everyone, please take a seat."

"How sudden are we talking about?" Ani asked. Then she noticed the cloaked figure standing there. "…huh?"

"Sage," Hunter grew serious, seeing how Sage was behaving. "Why don't you just tell us and-!"

There was another fussy whimper that interrupted Hunter, which snatched the attention of them all. The cloaked figure looked down, and finally took out the bundle that she had been hiding underneath the warmth of her cloak. Two tiny hands squirmed and wiggled incoherently while the little thing inside the bundle tried to uncover itself. When it had trouble, the cloaked figure helped, and revealed just exactly what was in the bundle.

Indeed, it was a small infant…a little baby girl ewe, blinking and opening up its bright green eyes to look at everyone else.

Ani rushed to the cloaked woman to look at this baby. "Oh my gosh! Look at that adorable little face!" she cooed, taking one of the tiny hands with a finger.

Then it hit Ani.

"…wait a minute…" she took another look at the baby. "…you look just like…"

…and Ani looked right up at the cloaked woman with her jaw dropping. Hunter couldn't believe it either, and while the infant was hard not to watch, he too stared at the cloaked figure with the same disbelief as Ani.

"...holy..." King uttered, gaping.

"...keke?" Ripper's mouth opened slightly, while Queen and Miser just looked at the cloaked woman in disbelief.

"...you've certainly hit some dark times recently..." Sage sighed, folding her arms. "...Jill."

The cloaked figure finally decided that it was appropriate to remove the hood of the cloak, and confirm to them who she really was. Doing so didn't change their shock one bit, but most of their eyes widened.

"…Jill…?" Ani gasped with her hand to her mouth. The woman standing there was the ewe they all remembered to have disappeared nearly ten months ago because of an accident that happened to another friend of theirs; Brick Cainfield's death. Since then, they haven't been able to find her… and it nearly devastated the boys at the Clubhouse because of it…

…and here she was, standing before them, with a child in her arms.

"...wha..." King uttered, tilting his head.

Jill winced in sadness, until the baby whimpered again and she gently rocked it to calm it down.

"…Jill…you…" Ani just couldn't believe it.

"...would you like a seat, Jill?" Sage eventually suggested.

Jill looked at her, and nodded a little, sitting down at a chair near a table closest to them.

"...are you hungry, by any chance?" Sage inquired again.

Jill hesitated on that, and only looked at the little baby in her arms.

"…Jill…?" Ani looked worried.

Jill eventually nodded.

"…I'll make you something then," Ani was quick to slip behind the counter and tie on an apron. For a moment, not much was said; the air around them was far too tense.

"...Jill..." Queen eventually began, clearing her throat a little, before she shook her head. "...never mind..."

"...Hunter." Sage eventually said, glancing at the wolf. "Think you can get her a pen and some paper?"

"…y-yeah!" With that, Hunter disappeared into the swinging butler doors that were by the counter, which led to the back rooms.

"...this way, you can communicate with the rest of them." Sage mused, looking back at Jill.

Jill nodded gratefully, and then she just looked back down at the baby. There was even more silence, until Hunter finally returned with the things he went to look for, setting them down on the table next to Jill.

"…excuse me…" Jill looked back up at him. "…may I….hold her?" Hunter asked. Jill looked back down at the baby for a while… and then she gently held her to Hunter for him to take into his arms.

The baby ewe looked up at Hunter with curiosity, but mostly yawned, looking tired.

"...so..." Miser began, rubbing the back of her head. "...um... may I ask what her name is, Jill?"

With Jill's hands free, she reached for the pen, and when she took a hold of it, she noticed that she was shaking still. She took the paper, and started writing.

Hunter looked over what she wrote, and looked back at the baby. "…so…your name's Joy Meredith Condit, is it?" he muttered. "…that's…quite a name, Jill…"

"...indeed." Miser nodded.

"...so..." King began, rubbing his neck a little awkwardly.

"...I'm sorry, but I have to ask." Queen sighed. "It's what we're all thinking, anyway... where did you go, Jill?"

Jill looked at Queen for a while, and she wrote.

Hunter looked over it again. "…wait…you went back to your village?" he asked in surprise. Jill nodded.

"...so you stayed there until you gave birth..." Queen mused, looking at what she wrote.

Jill nodded again, and looked down at the paper, clenching at the table. Hunter noticed, and looked back at Jill. "…Jill…" he muttered, earning a glance from her. "…if there's anything you need to write down…do it," he said. "…you'll feel better if you do…"

"...go on." Sage nodded. "Write what you need to write."

Jill looked back down at the paper…

…then she reached into her cloak and pulled out a stack of two or three sheets of paper that already had writing on them. Hunter gave little baby Joy back to Jill, so he could take up the papers. "…is it okay if I read it aloud, Jill?" he asked.

She nodded.

With that, Hunter looked over it to see where to start.

_"…We were walking out late one night. Brick was so excited about the news…we were both really happy about it. It's really the happiest I've ever been…then again, maybe close to it. I feel like there had been a time once before where I really was the happiest in my life, but I can't recall it…"_

"_We were cut short though when we found ourselves surrounded by shady characters in a secluded area. They were nothing more than a gang of robbers demanding for valuables and money. Brick obviously opposed them, and fought them off while I could only watch. I didn't know that one of them possessed a firearm…by the time I realized they had one, the shot had already been fired…"_

"…_the bullet hit Brick directly in the head, and he fell to his instant death."_

"_I felt like that bullet hit me as well; I was petrified, and I couldn't believe what I saw. All my happiness, was taken away like that…my heart was slowing down, growing weak when I felt the barrel pointed at my own head; told that if I didn't cooperate, the same would happen to me…maybe worse."_

Hunter paused.

"...that's..." Miser uttered, her eyes widening slightly.

"…so…that's what happened to him," Hunter muttered gravely.

"...how cruel." Queen murmured.

Hunter's eyes widened at the next part.

"_I can't remember what happened then…all of it is in the dark, but the next thing I remember was that I was standing at a tall cliff over raging waves of the ocean, early before the dawn, and I could barely catch body bags flying down the cliff into the waters below."_

"_I could only guess what happened…"_

"…_but could I have…killed them? I wouldn't ever do any harm to anyone! I would never become so cold-blooded in my life…but Brick's death may have triggered something unpredictable…Still, I never would kill anyone. I was slowly losing my sanity at what happened…I couldn't go back to the Professor and the boys…"_

"…_so I ran. I became concerned about protecting myself…and my future child. The only thing I have left of him…of something that would mean everything to me."_

Hunter looked at Jill in astonishment, and she looked away shamefully.

"...she's been through a lot, keke..." Ripper murmured.

Hunter looked back at the paper to keep reading.

"…_the last place I would ever go to turned out to eventually be my destination…"_

"_My village."_

"_By the time I came there, I was already to bursting toward my 9 months. The guards recognized me with total shock…and even with my unborn child, they felt obligated to turn me away. I was still banished after all."_

"_When my father witnessed that, he discharged them immediately."_

"_I stayed there at my village for a while. My father helped me each night while I cried my heart out through the trauma of what happened, unable to put any of it in words because of my handicap. Then finally came the day I went into labor, and Joy Meredith Condit was born…"_

"…_I wasn't sure whether or not to give her Brick's name…but it still hurt so much to think about what happened. It gave my father the joy of being a grandfather though…uh, no pun intended."_

The only one who hadn't said anything yet was King, who kept his arms folded while he listened to what Jill had written.

"_Once I was ready, I set out again. The villagers told me that even if I was banished, they would always make a home for Joy if something happened. I was thankful…but I had to find a way to take care of us. Since I lost my powers long ago, I was just an ordinary girl."_

"_That's when I remembered Safe Haven."_

"…_Would they understand? I have been missing for so long…and all of them are probably looking for me….but I didn't exactly want to be found. I was helpless. It was terrible, and... humiliating for me, because I was such a young mother. I couldn't take that kind of stress... If anybody could help me back onto my feet…it would be the former GUN agents."_

"…_I would've gone to Metal…but I didn't want to put all that on him. Not after…what happened…"_

Hunter looked to see that Jill had written a little bit more on the paper on the table, and she handed it to him to read aloud. "_…so…I need somewhere to stay…because I can't go back to the boys and the Professor…not after just abandoning them like that…even with how much of an emotional wreck I was, leaving them was a cruel thing to do…especially when the Professor did so much for me long ago when I first met him and Brick…"_

And that was all that was written. The only sound that passed for that moment was little Joy gurgling a little bit and then sucking on her thumb.

"...so... you need a place to stay?" King eventually uttered.

Jill nodded.

"...right..." King nodded, before he stood up. "...that shouldn't be a problem at all." he mused. "It'll take a little while to find you a place for just you and Joy, but in the meantime, both of you can stay over at Sonia's place; she'll appreciate the company, I figure."

Jill looked at King with a surprised look. She was grateful…but also curious. Who was this Sonia?

Ani smiled, and even chuckled a little bit. "Sonia's going to adore Joy," she said, coming over and setting a plate of food down in front of Jill.

"...one of us can go and tell her that you'll be coming over." Sage suggested, smiling a bit as well.

"…yeah, and Sonia's part of the first generation of recruits, so she knows this place really well," Hunter said, also smiling. "She can help you make sure you stay away from the bad parts of the island so Joy won't get hurt…"

Jill only looked at them.

She wrote something down again.

…_you're all…so kind…_ she wrote.

"...hey, what are friends for, right?" King hummed, smirking a bit.

"...oh, my. Did I come at an inappropriate time?"

Everyone turned towards the door, where they saw that a large pig had walked into the pub, looking right back at them. "My apologies; the sign said that the place was open, and with the new recruits, I didn't expect all of you to be here." the pig said with a small smirk.

"...Spiel." Miser uttered, looking cautiously at the pig.

"…what do you want Spiel?" Ani groaned, setting her hands on her hips.

Jill could only look at the pig with an intrigued… and slightly wary look, judging by how everyone was acting toward this character. Little baby Joy looked at him as well, over Jill's shoulder.

"...what, can't a pig come and order a meal any longer?" Spiel chuckled. "It says that it's open, so I assume you're still open for business?"

"...nothing else, aside from that?" King uttered.

"Not a thing." Spiel chuckled, before his glance happened to fall upon Jill. "...so, are you gonna introduce me to your new friend over there, King?"

"…it depends on whether or not you're going to try and brainwash her to join your group," Ani said, which startled Jill.

"…Ani, don't be ridiculous," Hunter muttered, setting a hand on his daughter's shoulders.

Spiel only chuckled. "Now that's the Ani we all know and love... or hate, when it comes to everyone you've turned down over the years." he joked.

"Keep the jokes to yourself, please." Sage sighed, before she glanced at Jill. _...do you want to let him know your name? _she asked mentally.

…_it depends…on whether or not he's a dangerous person,_ Jill replied, and she started to hear Joy whimpering again, but while looking at Spiel… was Joy actually afraid of him?

"...oh, am I scaring the little girl?" Spiel hummed, rubbing the back of his neck. "My apologies." he chuckled, before sitting down.

_...he's one to be wary of._ Sage told Jill. _He's physically imposing, but doesn't have any ill will towards any of us... I think..._

Jill rocked little Joy enough to soothe her. _…go ahead, _she replied to Sage.

Nodding, Sage looked at the pig. "...her name's Jill." she said.

"...Jill, huh..." Spiel hummed, before nodding. "...and the little one?"

Sage blinked, before she looked at Jill to see if she'd be willing to let Spiel learn of Joy's name. Jill nodded to Sage, and when little Joy got fussy, Jill took out a pacifier that she gave to Joy to suck on, calming her down again.

Sage looked back at Spiel. "...her name's Joy."

"...Jill and Joy... how quaint," Spiel chuckled, before he rubbed his chin. "...so, is there a specific reason why Jill couldn't tell me that herself?"

"…she's a mute," Hunter replied.

"...a mute, huh..." Spiel hummed, before he nodded. "...well, at least she's got a daughter and some good friends. Lose some and win some, as the saying goes." he mused with a light chuckle.

Jill didn't know why, but that kind of saying really bugged her… especially when this guy didn't even know the things she went through…but he was only trying to be friendly as far as they knew.

"Spiel, are you wanting something to eat or not?" asked Ani. "This whole business with Jill is really just between us Safe Haven admins since she's an old friend of ours…"

"...right; it's not really my place, is it..." Spiel shrugged. "Alright; I'll just have the usual, Ani."

Ani remained silent, going away behind the counter to get to work. Jill looked down at her plate of food wondering if she really was hungry or not.

"C'mon King; you and me can explain the situation to Sonia," Hunter said, heading toward the door.

"Right." King nodded, before he got out of his seat, following Hunter.

Jill took one nibble of her food, and suddenly realized how hungry she really was after tasting such delectable food… but she had a hard time eating with Joy in her arms, now that the little thing had fallen asleep.

"...um..." Miser began, rubbing her head. "...I can hold her, while you eat..."

Jill looked at Miser, giving her a thankful nod while she carefully handed Joy over to her, making sure she wouldn't wake up.

* * *

><p>"Sure hope Sonia's home," Hunter said. "I'd hate to have to go looking for her on the island."<p>

"I think she'll be at home." King noted. "You know how it's been; she doesn't come out until the annual tournament begins when the new recruits come ashore."

"Right," Hunter replied.

They made their way through the thick woods, heading towards a large log cabin in the distance. "You know," Hunter started, "I hate to say it, but Spiel's idea for building the town and more barracks wasn't so bad…it's certainly a lot better than being crammed in one huge building;

"...yeah; it surprised me when he suggested it, too..." King hummed. "...but good idea or not, it's still hard to see him as trustworthy..."

"…although I admit that being stuck in that one building reminded me of the time when we were still fugitives and Charmy was letting us stay with him and his crew…" Hunter said. "…but all the more reason to be careful with Spiel…after the things that happened long ago."

"...right..." King nodded, folding his arms.

They finally made it to the door of the cabin, and Hunter knocked on the door. "Sonia, you there?" he called.

It took a while, before the door opened, and a female rattlesnake looked back at King and Hunter. "...kinda early, isn't it?" she yawned.

"It's just that you sleep in when the new recruits show up." King pointed out. "Mind if we come in?"

"...not at all." Sonia shrugged, opening the door further and leading King and Hunter inside.

Hunter closed the door behind him, and walked through the cabin a bit with them. "Listen, Sonia…we need a pretty big favor," he began, clearing his throat.

"...a favor?" Sonia hummed, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Hunter said. "…something pretty sudden just came up, and we were wondering if you would be willing to have someone stay with you for a little while until we can figure out something…"

"...well... sure." Sonia hummed. "Who is it?"

"...an old friend." King murmured, rubbing his arm. "She's hit some hard times, and she needs a place to stay... so until we can get her a place of her own..."

"...say no more." Sonia said with a smile. "I'll get the guest bed set up soon enough."

"…but there_ is_ some things you should know," Hunter added, "…our friend…kinda has a baby with her…"

"...oh, she's a mom?" Sonia hummed. "...hrm... I don't really have any cradles on standby... well, I'll manage." she eventually shrugged. "Is there something else I should know?"

"...well... she's mute, too." King noted.

"Mute _and_ a mother..." Sonia nodded. "...right; anything else?"

"…something pretty bad happened to the father of the baby…so she's really sensitive about that," Hunter said. "…actually, if you think about it, Jill's pretty sensitive about a lot of things…"

"So, it's probably best not to ask too many questions." King noted.

"...right." Sonia nodded, folding her arms. "...but I gotta say; I feel sorry for her, if she's gone through something bad like that..."

"…there's just one more thing we ask too," Hunter said. "…make sure that you look out for her and her baby when she's here on the island. Some soldiers didn't take too kindly to her crying child on the ferry, and there's no telling if any of the soldiers might set off Jill's… unpredictable side…"

Remembering what Jill wrote made him wonder just a little bit…and kind of made him worry.

"...right; I can do that." Sonia nodded. "Just say the word."

"...that's good." King mused. "Thanks; we owe you, Sonia."

"Don't mention it." Sonia chuckled.

"Right now she's getting something to eat at the pub, so she'll probably stay there and wait until after the tournament with the veterans and the new recruits blows over to swing by here," Hunter said.

"...I getcha," Sonia hummed, "...though, should I try a swing at the tournament, too?"

"Whatever floats your boat." King hummed.

"Yeah, you're still able to go for your usual turn at the tournament," Hunter said. "…but anyway, we should probably go Sonia. Me and King have a bunch of things to do to set everything up for tonight…"

"Alright, then." Sonia nodded. "You guys go on, then."

King nodded, as he rose from his seat, before he headed to the door. "...again, thanks, Sonia."

"Again, don't mention it." Sonia said with a chuckle.

"See you at the tournament," Hunter said, closing the door behind him and King.

"...see ya." Sonia nodded.

* * *

><p>Running through the woods, the small being eventually stopped to catch her breath; She seemed fairly young, and she was still able to run about just fine...<p>

"…what are you running from, little one?"

She blinked, looking to where the voice came from. "...ran from nasties..." she uttered.

"...yeah...they are nasty, aren't they...?"

"...everybody's nasty..." she uttered, "...everyone... but not here; people say there's no nasties here..."

"…they said that huh?"

The little figure finally saw where the voice was coming from, where another figure was just sitting next to a tree trunk. "…I'm wondering why you're here, wandering around," he said. "…don't you have any parents?"

"...no." she said, shaking her head. "They were nasties, too... had to get them to stop being nasty... they stopped, so I ran here..." Then, she looked to the side. "...I stopped them..."

"…you stopped them from being nasty…?" the figure stood up from where he sat, and he slowly approached the little one. It was a snow leopard with black hair running down half of his face, and black clothes all over him. "…how did you stop them from being nasty?" he asked again.

The little figure was silent, though soon, the leopard would notice what she was; a small owl, wearing a tiny black dress, with blood splattered over her. "...I stopped them... with this." she uttered, pulling out a bloodied knife from her dress.

The leopard knelt down and looked at the knife. "…I see," he said. "…so…do you feel sorry for doing that?" he asked curiously, looking at the owl girl.

"...no." she replied. "They deserved it... all nasties deserve it..."

"…I see…" The leopard stood up, just looking down at her. "…you're a very smart girl...and you're right. All nasties deserve it…"

"...are you a nasty?" the owl inquired, tilting her head.

"Me?" The leopard inquired. "…I'm only mean to the nasty people…I make the bad things happen to the nasty people when they deserve it…but I won't be nasty to you, because you're a smart girl."

"...so you're not a nasty." the owl uttered. "...what's your name?"

"…My name's Diablo," the leopard said, kneeling back down to the owl. "Tell me your name, little one, and maybe I could be your Big Brother…how would you like that?"

"...that would be good..." the owl hummed, before she nodded, "...my name's Kiri."

"Kiri…what a nice name," Diablo said, standing up. Then he held out his hand to her. "…here…I can wash you up and you can live with me… and then the two of us can make sure that the nasty people here get what they deserve…"

"...okay... Big Brother," Kiri nodded, slowly taking Diablo's hand.

With that, Diablo and Kiri started walking away.

* * *

><p>Night fell upon the island of Safe Haven, and the annual tournament had begun. Just from the first few fights, people were getting quite excited; with some of the hounds, the cougar, Hunter, Queen and Sonia, among others, participating. The next match was just about to start; with a jackal stepping into the ring. "...let's get this over with."<p>

That was when Diablo and Kiri walked toward the bright lights, entering the building to see the battles. Diablo slowed down to stay in the shadows, but mainly he stopped because of who was walking out onto the arena against the jackal. "Hm?"

It was a cloaked figure, but the figure pulled off the hood and showed her face.

Though he couldn't hear them, Diablo noticed that King and the others in charge of the island seemed surprised at who this woman was; a ewe.

"...so, you're one of the new guys, eh?" the jackal hummed, cracking his knuckles. "Alright; I'm not gonna go easy on ya, just because you're female. Got that?"

The ewe reached up to where the cloak was buttoned together, and she pulled it apart, throwing off the cloak. The audience gasped, seeing that she did not look like the healthiest Mobian around. She looked a little too skinny, and there were a lot of cuts and bruises on her. Her clothes were dirty rags, and ripped at some places. They looked like they were ready to fall apart any second.

"…it looks like that woman has had some hard times," observed Diablo.

"...maybe she was attacked by a nasty." Kiri noted.

"...alright; here I go!" the jackal called, before he ran to punch the ewe right in the face; not even phased by the shape she was in. Then the audience looked surprised when the ewe caught the fist just inches away from her face, holding the jackal back.

The jackal seemed surprised by this as well. "Tsch- lucky shot!" he hissed, quickly aiming a kick at the ewe. That one got her, and it pushed her a few feet, holding her stomach painfully. She realized that she wasn't as strong as she used to be. With a scoff, the jackal aimed another punch at the ewe. She was knocked back a bit farther, but she tried to put up an effort with a kick at the jackal in return.

That knocked the jackal back a bit, but likewise, he quickly rushed to punch the ewe again. She took the punch weakly, shaking at her knees. She wasn't going to last much longer, and she thought that this might have been a bad idea after all.

"…that woman seems to be having trouble," Diablo muttered.

"...she'll be knocked out, soon." Kiri commented.

"You're mine!" the jackal called, before he aimed another kick at the ewe.

Sure, it looked as if the ewe would be called out in that attack, but Diablo started to notice something about that woman. Her knees suddenly weren't shaking anymore, and she looked more composed. In fact, the ewe just snatched the jackal's ankle, halting his kick. That was when he noticed something else about the woman.

She stared right up at the jackal with piercing red eyes… and she flashed a devious smirk at the jackal.

"…then again…it looks like she just might turn the tables here," Diablo remarked, growing interested at this sudden change of behavior in the ewe.

She threw away the leg that had been about to kick her and she threw a punch right at his gut… a rather powerful looking punch actually. That punch sent the jackal flying back considerably, barely managing to land on his feet. "...kah..."

"...that was..." Kiri hummed, tilting her head.

The ewe woman just walked toward him menacingly with that devious grin.

The jackal hissed. "...why you-!" he began, before he ran to try and punch the ewe again.

She only caught the punch again, more effortlessly than before, and she sent a kick right at his face. That kick knocked the jackal right off his feet, sending him crashing against the ground. "...buh..."

The ewe walked up to him and when he was on the ground, she firmly planted her feet right on his chest, forcing him to look up at her smirk.

The jackal coughed, as he looked back at the ewe. "...who the hell... are you?" he uttered.

Suddenly, the ewe's eyes changed color, from red to green. That smirk fell off of her face, and changed to bewilderment… and once she saw her situation, a growing fear. She stepped away from the jackal slowly, shuddering.

Then she spun around and ran out of the arena, to some of the audience's confusion. She ran right into the hall where Diablo and Kiri dwelled, running right past them without regarding anything to them, and then disappearing outside.

"…hm…that woman is interesting," Diablo murmured, rubbing his chin. "…she's one of the first newcomers to actually beat a veteran in the tournament…and yet she's horrified at that."

"...why is that?" Kiri hummed, rubbing her chin along with Diablo. "Had it been any other nasty, they'd just cheer..."

"…right…" Diablo murmured.

Then he saw the jackal getting off the arena. "Way to go Will. You lost to a girl," he said insultingly.

"...can it, Diablo." Will murmured. "That wasn't any normal girl... it was a witch." Then he walked out of sight.

"…a witch he says?" Diablo was even more intrigued now.

"...this witch..." Kiri hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "...she sounds like fun."

* * *

><p>Jill ran as far as she could, but found that she was still weak, and she had to stop to catch her breath. She couldn't believe what happened there before. The first minute she thought she was done for, and the next thing she knew she was standing over that jackal with ill intent…<p>

…it was like before…

She had to shake that out of her thoughts, because the mere thought of it freaked her out…

"...are you okay?" a female voice suddenly said behind her.

Jill weakly looked at who it was.

It was a female rattlesnake, who had a fairly concerned look on her face. "...don't worry; I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna know if you're okay..." she said reassuringly.

Jill slowly nodded.

Eventually, the rattlesnake tilted her head. "...wait... can you even talk?" she inquired.

Jill shook her head, and looked down to the ground sadly.

"...I see... so you're the one King talked about..." the snake hummed, before she placed a hand on Jill's shoulder, "...my name's Sonia." she said with a small smile, "Don't worry; I'll help you out, if you need any of it."

Jill recognized the name and looked up to her in astonishment. So this was the Sonia they talked about.

"...now, let's get going." Sonia hummed, before she helped Jill up. "We just need to go get your baby, and I'll show you the way to my place."

For a moment, Jill didn't seem so scared anymore. In fact, she gave Sonia a small, weary smile of gratitude when she helped her up, and they started heading toward the pub, where Ani was watching little baby Joy…

"...hey, Ani?" Sonia called when they entered the pub.

"Hm?" Ani looked from from behind the counter with baby Joy in her arms, nibbling away at her own hand. "Oh, Sonia, I see you finally met Jill…" and then Ani saw her condition. "…Jill? Did you really go into that tournament?"

Jill shrugged, and then winced, holding her stomach from where that jackal kicked her.

"Sonia, who did she fight?" Ani asked.

"Will." Sonia replied. "At first, she wasn't faring too well, but eventually, she just _trounced_ him." Then, she looked down at the ewe. "...but she ran away right afterwards."

"What do you mean?" Ani asked. "How in the world did she….?" And she trailed off when she saw the look of shame and sadness on Jill's face. "…ooohh," she muttered in understanding.

Joy saw her mommy there and made a noise, holding her arms out to try and reach her. Jill noticed this, so she came over and took Joy into her own arms so that Joy could nuzzle into her neck and suck on her thumb again.

Sonia couldn't help but crack a smile at seeing that. "...what's the baby's name?" she eventually asked, looking at Ani.

"According to Jill, her whole name is Joy Meredith Condit," Ani replied, smiling.

"...Joy, huh?" Sonia hummed. "That's a really nice name!" she added, grinning.

Jill smiled a little at that, and Joy just gurgled.

The door opened then. "C'mon Will, you just need a shot of liquor and you'll feel much…" four figures stopped in the middle of the doorway, looking upon the three in the bar to their surprise. "…better…?" muttered one of them; a mole rat.

"...oh, _hell;_ She's here, too?" the familiar voice of the jackal groaned.

"...geez." a ferret scoffed. "There goes the neighborhood."

"...now what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Sonia huffed, turning to look at the four of them.

Jill looked a little disheartened, looking away from them.

"You guys need to leave her alone, alright?" growled Ani, stepping out from behind the counter to stand in front of Jill protectively.

"What? She gets a special treatment all of a sudden?" the zebra scoffed.

"It's not about special treatment, you simpering baboons." Sonia hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" the ferret yelled. "We are _not_ baboons!"

The jackal, Will, proceeded to smack the ferret across the head. "...well, _special treatment_ or not, is it possible to get a drink around here?" he murmured irritably.

"Depends if one; you keep harassing Jill, and two; you turn it into one of your dumb drinking contests," Ani said.

"Your name's Jill, huh?" the zebra remarked. "…you look pretty bad. Maybe you should have a drink too."

"She can't drink! Not only is she a mom, but she's still eighteen!" Ani yelled. Jill tapped her shoulder and shook her head. "No?" Ani supposed. "…you're nineteen now?" Jill nodded at that.

"Damn, you got knocked up at an early age," The mole rat commented, which hurt Jill to hear that.

Sonia gave them a scowl for that.

"...what?" the ferret hummed. "Isn't it true, though?"

"Alright, that's enough." Will grunted. "We won't start a drinking game or bug Jill or whatever; just serve us some drinks. Seymour, Marco, Ed, get a table."

The other three just looked at Will, and like he ordered, they picked a table away from them to sit at. With a small sigh, Sonia glanced at Jill. "...you wanna head home, or do you want to grab a bite to eat, first?"

Jill looked at her, unsure.

"…Jill…" Jill turned to Ani, who gave her a sincere look. "…I think you'd be better off going to Sonia's. If you think these guys are insensitive now, wait until you see them drunk."

"...true." Sonia nodded. "Let's head home; maybe you can rest up."

"Hmph." Will scoffed, as he took a seat by his buddies.

"Where's the father?" the mole rat curiously asked Jill, hurting her even more. "He ran off the first chance he got when he found out, didn't he?"

Ani felt like that was crossing the line.

"…HE'S DEAD YOU INSENSITIVE BASTARD!"

Suddenly, the chair that the mole rat sat in flew up and sent the mole rat flying across the bar, hitting another table and chairs in a corner. Jill was shocked. That was the first time she ever heard Ani use language like that, and she looked at the preteen husky-wolf with concern, while Ani huffed just to calm down. Sonia was taken aback by that, as she just looked from Ani to Jill.

"...tsch..." Will grunted, shooting Ani a look, but remaining silent.

"…see what I mean?" muttered Ani, finally, looking back at Jill. "…it would be even worse than that…"

_...Ani…is this how you felt when you found out that…Brick…?_ Jill wondered in thought with some concern.

"…oh yeah, and…sorry about the language," muttered Ani sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

"...let's... just go..." Sonia murmured, as she began heading for the entrance, looking back to see if Jill would follow. Thankfully, Jill did follow closely, and Joy threw out a small whine before the two of them left out the door.

Ani got their drinks and set them on their table… with two more drinks on one end. "…more alcohol for Ed so it can soothe the landing," Ani grumbled.

"…you didn't have to be so rough Ani," whined the mole rat, Ed, while getting back up to the table dizzily.

"...guess the temper comes with the age." Will noted, taking his drink.

"…look, it wasn't only the fact that I asked you not to pester Jill anymore about her past," Ani said, turning and walking back to the counter. "…but I had personal feelings about what happened too…so no more asking about the dad of the little girl, okay?"

"Geez Ani, we get it," groaned the zebra. "…I didn't realize you were so involved with that woman…"

"...what, did you grow up with her, or something?" the ferret inquired.

"Seymour, Marco, let it go." Will scoffed, taking a swig from his drink. "Unless any of you guys feel like getting a concussion as well."

"…the last thing I'll say is that Jill was like a mom to me when I was really little and I didn't have one…" Ani muttered. "…but no more questions…"

"…so her name is Jill, is it?"

Ani jumped hearing that voice, and looked to the door where a tall figure stood; a black, muscular ox. "She did a hell of a job whopping Will's ass, that's for sure," the ox chuckled. "I don't remember ever seeing a newcomer that actually beat up a veteran before."

"…great…not you too Raider," Ani groaned.

"...feh... now all we need is Spiel, Hex and Diablo, and we have the whole menagerie of people to steer clear off." Will commented.

"…arrogant first-generation veterans…" the zebra, Seymour, muttered under his breath.

Raider, the black ox, took a seat at the counter. "…so you've known the woman personally, eh?" he inquired of Ani.

"Forget it Raider," Ani growled. "I'm not telling you anything about Jill. She's too much of an emotional wreck to be bothered by anyone."

"Oh, I wouldn't even have to ask you for information and you know it," Raider said. "Like how I found out about what happens to you and your dad under the full moon…"

Ani fell uncomfortably silent when she gave Raider his alcoholic drink.

"...tsch..." Will quickly looked away. "...creep."

Marco just gulped, keeping to his drink.

"…for the poor condition she's in, she's still an attractive woman, you have to admit," Raider chuckled.

Ani stuck out her tongue in disgust, "Bleh…you realize that I'm a tomboy and I don't give a crap about that stuff, right Raider?"

"You're still young, but you'll understand…" Raider drank his glass.

Ani glared at Raider. "…keep in mind Raider…Jill has taken down creatures bigger than you single-handedly before…"

Ed choked on his glass, coughing. "She what?" Marco just spit out what he had in his mouth, looking at Ani in disbelief.

Will, on the other hand, just kept quiet. "...with that kind of fighting, I'm not too surprised." he remarked dryly.

"…oh?" Raider said. "…would it have something to do with the fact that her eyes turned red during the fight?"

Ani halted when she heard that. That sounded very familiar… in fact, she instantly knew what Raider was talking about, and she grew worried. "…that's none of your business Raider," she said.

"I know it's not, but that doesn't stop me from asking," Raider said, taking another drink.

"We all know that," Seymour grumbled. "…just give it a rest, Raider. Ani nearly knocked Ed's lights out for asking too many questions…"

Raider chuckled. "The only time I should be afraid of Ani should be around the full moon…but I think I got enough of what I wanted to know." He stood up, putting money on the counter, and walked toward the door with a chuckle.

"...tsch... I don't care what dirt he digs up on me; he's a lowly creep." Will murmured, glancing away.

Before Raider left, he stopped right at the door. "…if anything…I think she should participate in the training program with the rest of the newcomers. I think even Spiel would agree that Jill's a worthy candidate for that."

"But she's got a baby Raider!" Ani yelled.

"That didn't stop that newcomer bloodhound from bringing his kid into Safe Haven," Raider retorted, "…or your father for that matter, Ani." With that, he was gone out the door.

"...ouch, burn." Marco remarked, only to be slapped across the head by Will.

"…way to leave some haunting words, Raider," Ani muttered.

* * *

><p>Jill looked up at the log cabin that Sonia brought her and Joy to. It looked like a very comfortable place to live. It actually looked more familiar to her than anything else she's seen on the island. The homes back in her village were like cabins…built right into the trunks of the trees…but nonetheless, it was very welcoming to her.<p>

She smiled up at it.

"...you like it, huh?" Sonia hummed with a smile. "This is the place. C'mon; I'll show you how it looks inside." she said, before she went to open the door.

Jill entered inside, finding the place to be just as welcoming as it appeared to be outside. She smiled even more, and actually relaxed for the first time in a long time when she looked around.

"...go on; make yourself comfortable." Sonia said, closing the door behind them. "I can cook up something simple for you, if you're hungry."

Jill nodded to her in thanks, and she went over into the living room. This was even more like a log cabin; it had a small, cozy fireplace in front of a futon, and while there weren't much in terms of decoration, there was much in comfort.

"...it's not much, I know, but it gets the job done." Sonia mused. "I got the guest bed set up earlier today, so when you feel like calling it a night, give me a nudge."

Jill sat down on the futon, still looking around. Joy started to whimper again, so Jill turned her attention to her child and rocked a little bit to calm her down. Joy seemed to find it soothing and she returned to sucking on her thumb.

"...she's really cute." Sonia noted, before she went into another room. "I'll go get something you can write with and on, just so you can tell me if you need anything; that work out, Jill?"

Jill nodded, although with Sonia being in another room, it would be hard to respond like that. Nonetheless, she continued rocking a bit…

…then she noticed that there was actually a rocking chair in the corner over there. Jill went over to sit in that instead so she could continue rocking back and forth. Joy closed her eyes a little bit and started to doze off, and Jill smiled down at her when she saw that.

Eventually, Sonia came back, holding a notepad and a pencil. Seeing the sleeping Joy, she smiled as well. "...that's just adorable." she noted.

Jill smiled up at Sonia, and she took the notepad and pencil, setting it down on the end table that was right next to the rocking chair. With her right hand, she was able to write now.

_I can't thank you enough for taking in a complete stranger like me into your home, _she wrote.

"...eh, don't mention it." Sonia said with a smile. "It's the least I can do."

Jill smiled again…

… and stopped the rocking chair suddenly, seeing something else in another corner of the room; a curvy, violin case that looked to have accumulated some dust. She tilted her head in wondering at it, never thinking that she would see that here in Safe Haven. Did Sonia actually play the violin?

…_you play the violin?_ She wrote next.

"...hm?" Sonia hummed, as she glanced at the violin case. "...oh, that old thing?" she chuckled sheepishly, rubbing her head. "I used to, but that was _ages _ago. I never was any good at it, and I eventually just gave up on it," she shrugged. "What about you?"

Jill kept staring at that violin… and she finally got up from the walking chair, walking toward it. Sonia hummed, watching Jill with some curiosity as she approached the violin case.

There was a blanket on the futon, and when Jill saw it, she took it and rearranged it on the futon so that it looked like a deep doughnut shape, and she was able to set Joy down on it without too many problems. With that settled, she picked up the violin case and sat on the futon next to the sleeping Joy, opening up the violin case.

Yes, there was a violin there, made with cherry wood. Jill set her fingers on it and rubbed the smooth surface of it, amazed that it was still in a good condition for being covered in dust.

"...you gonna play it?" Sonia hummed, tilting her head.

Jill looked up at her and shrugged.

Joy awoke and looked around a bit, noticing that she wasn't in her mommy's arms rocking in the chair back and forth. Because of that, Joy got fussy, and even went as far as started to cry again. Jill grew alarmed as she usually did when her child cried. Sonia winced when Joy began crying. "Um... maybe you should..." she began, rubbing the back of her head.

Instead of immediately tending to Joy, Jill wondered if doing something else would calm her down… like maybe a little music…

…and she looked at the violin.

First, she took it up plucked the strings to make sure it was in tune, and she tucked it underneath her neck, taking out the bow and running it across the violin.

Then she started to play.

The moment she had started playing, Joy actually stopped crying, and opened her eyes, staring at her mother as she started to run the bow across the strings easily. Jill picked up a more steady, faster pace, and took off with a simple reel she remembered from when she was younger. It had been years since she last played, and she wanted to make sure that she was still capable.

Thing was, she was still more than capable… to Sonia, Jill just took off with lightning, precise fingers across the neck of the instrument and she made the bow run over the strings hotly with a pounding beat. Sonia could only look at Jill with wide eyes as she played.

Eventually Jill had to stop playing, and afterward she looked at the instrument with a smile. Not only did she still have it, but this violin really was still in a good condition to handle that kind of playing. She gave Sonia a smile and thumbs up for that.

Sonia blinked, before she eventually smiled back. "...glad you like it." she said; figuring that was why she was receiving a thumbs up.

Jill suddenly heard a giggle. Her eyes widened, and shot to Joy, who was giggling in enjoyment and smiling.

Joy… was smiling.

…_that's the first time I've ever seen her smile, _Jill was blown away by it, and she put down the violin to pick Joy up again.

Sonia hummed at the sight of that. "...guess she likes music, too." she mused.

Jill watched Joy continue to giggle and kick her feet happily, smiling up at her mother. Jill couldn't explain what she felt, but it was an incredible, moving feeling… when Jill saw her little daughter smile up at her, those unexplained feelings stirred even more. She felt like everything she had ever gone through was worth seeing that little smile.

In a way… it was mostly a sweep of relief that she finally had somewhere to stay, so she could properly take care of her… that… and she was just so glad that she still had someone dear to her right here with her.

A few tears rolled down Jill's cheeks, cuddling Joy closely. Sonia couldn't help but smile as well, as she sat down in the rocking chair, looking at the two.

Jill cuddled Joy for so long that by the time she pulled away, Joy actually had fallen asleep in her arms. With that, Jill slowly put Joy down back on the rearranged blanket so that the infant could continue sleeping without so many disturbances. Joy turned over and started sucking on her thumb, while Jill leaned over and wiped her eyes, still feeling a bit fatigued.

"...how old is she, again?" Sonia eventually asked, looking at Jill curiously.

Jill looked up at Sonia, and went to pick up the notepad. _She's 3 months old,_ Jill wrote.

"3 months, huh...?" Sonia hummed, nodding a little. "...now, just stop me if I poke a little too deeply; I kinda do that then and again." she warned. "But... why did you decide to come to Safe Haven?"

Jill made a small, sad smile. She understood if Sonia was curious.

…_it was the only place I was able to go where I felt like I could stay and take care of Joy, _Jill wrote. _I've known King and his group for a few years so I hoped that they could help me…_

"...well, obviously they could." Sonia noted with a slight smile. "...though... there wasn't anywhere else you could've stayed? There _are_ some creeps on this island who don't care if they're beating on a walrus or a mother; not _too_ safe for a little baby girl..."

Jill pondered on how to write…

…_it's complicated, _she finally wrote, _but…I couldn't go anywhere else… besides, even if I'm emotional and sensitive, I can handle some rough characters now and then… after all, I'm used to taking care of myself, and I wouldn't dare let anything happen to Joy…_

"...as a mother should." Sonia nodded. "...still... you're all alone, huh? No other friends or family to help you out?"

…_well…there are…_ Jill wrote. _… But… I can't go back to my own village in the mountains… and I can't go back to my old friends in Mystic Ruins… not after what happened._

Sonia blinked with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "...um... what... _did _happen?" she asked.

Jill looked down to the ground, wondering if she really should tell Sonia or not. She didn't have to explain it in as many details as she had to do for King and his group… and she still owed this rattlesnake for taking her into her home.

…_Robbers… _She wrote. _…they ambushed me and her father… and he fought them, but one of them had a firearm, and they…_

Jill couldn't write anymore not only because it was still a painful memory to think about, but her hand was shaking.

"...oh..." Sonia uttered. "...I... see..." she murmured, before closing her eyes, "...my condolences, Jill."

Jill tried to smile a little bit out of thanks.

"...but... if you had friends over in the Mystic Ruins, why couldn't you go to them after the..." Sonia stopped momentarily, pondering how to finish her sentence. "...um... what word can I use... accident, maybe...?"

Jill stared back down at her notepad.

…_I couldn't handle going back to them. The accident was so traumatic for me that…old habits kicked in I guess. I ran away because I was so scared for mine and Joy's safety…and now I'm too ashamed to even consider going back to them now._

Sonia hummed. "...it must've been a year since you last saw them... I couldn't imagine how that'd feel like." she murmured.

Jill remained silent, just thinking about that. The boys would still take it so hard, not only losing Brick but missing her… and the Professor's been through his own hard times, so this would only remind him of his own painful memories.

Yes, she still felt quite ashamed for running away…for causing what could be a hard time for them…

"...sorry; I poked too deeply, right?" Sonia assumed, rubbing the back of her neck.

Jill eventually shrugged. _…there are times when I wish I was Sonic the Hedgehog, and I would know how to fix everything, _she wrote.

Sonia smiled awkwardly. "...well, if more people were like Sonic the Hedgehog, maybe the world would be a brighter place, eh?" she mused with a slight chuckle.

Jill smiled at that. _…yes, things would be better if more people were like him… but with the Professor and Captain Charmy out there, things aren't too bad…_

"True enough." Sonia nodded. "Especially after that whole Metal Sonic debacle from almost two years ago dwindled away. Though I wonder what happened to him after that last transmission of his..."

Jill gasped, looking back at Sonia frantically. She didn't even expect Sonia to mention that… but when she did, it made Jill nervous and jittery.

Blinking, Sonia noticed that. "...is something wrong, Jill?" she asked.

…_just tired_, Jill wrote shakily; it even showed in her handwriting that she was shaking.

"...right..." Sonia nodded. "...but... am I right in guessing that you have some bad memories from two years ago?"

Jill looked uneasily away from Sonia.

"...hey, if you don't feel like talking about it, I understand." Sonia said reassuringly. "That's just me poking deeply again..."

Jill looked at Sonia again.

…_I'm going to bed,_ she said. _…but to at least answer your question fairly… let's just say I actually had the chance to meet Metal Sonic himself…_

And Jill got up to go pick up Joy and head to the guest room, leaving the notepad with Sonia.

As she left, Sonia took the notepad and looked at the last written thing. "...meeting Metal Sonic... huh..." she hummed, before letting out a sigh, "...poor girl."

* * *

><p><em>"Well, here I am at Safe Haven...a baby in my arms.<em>

_It was tough adjusting to a mother, even if I was so naturally one towards other people. But...I feel much more at peace than I ever was. My vision of Joy before couldn't compare to the fragile little girl I now held. Every time I look at her, I remember what I saw. It comforts me so much..._

_...I think I really needed her, as much as she needed me._

_But other things come to mind; regarding the things I went through. My mother either gained, or had a power, passed down to me. It seems to appear and disappear for reasons unknown, my case being whenever I wasn't struggling with Deity. Like when Metal sealed him away, I haven't had my powers since then._

_...oh Metal. Even now, I miss you._

_I couldn't even begin to imagine what his reaction would be if he found out I had a daughter..._

_...but returning to my point, what would this mean for her? Would Joy gain powers of her own? Both Brick and I had unnatural abilities and while mine was likely hereditary, I'm not sure about him. I guess I never really asked Brick about his abilities."_

Jill didn't know why, but she couldn't bear to write any more. When she tried, it just ended up as scribbles. She was so weak…and she was shaking so much.

Then she figured out what was going on when a tear fell onto the page; a tear from her eyes.

After that, Jill broke down into her hands, crying silently. She still was trying to get over the things that have happened, and only being reminded of so many things in her past made her worry for the future. Would she even be able to protect Joy from all these things? What happens if her little girl starts to have powers that she doesn't understand?

What happens if her past actually comes back to haunt her…?

Forget all the soldiers here on this island! That's nothing compared to the torture and hardship that she's had to go through…

Then she made a startled jump when a certain little someone woke up and started crying. Joy was right beside Jill, and she picked her up to rock her back and forth. At first that didn't work, so Jill put a finger to Joy's mouth. Joy's mouth latched onto it and started sucking and nibbling.

_She's hungry, _Jill figured, adjusting herself so that she could breastfeed Joy. _…all this and I almost forgot to feed her…_

* * *

><p><strong><em>There's the first chapter of that for you. Hope you enjoy it :)<em>**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Here you go! Next chapter!_**

* * *

><p><em>One Week Later…<em>

* * *

><p>"She told you WHAT?" roared Hunter in shock, staring Sonia in the face one early morning at the pub.<p>

Sonia shrugged back at him. "It's as I told you, Hunter, and I'm pretty sure that you heard me."

"…frankly, I'm surprised that she was willing to share that much with you," Hunter uttered.

"...well, I guess poking about did _some_ good." Sonia noted, before she sighed. "...but I don't blame her for feeling down about this; it sounds like Metal Sonic did a number on her two years ago..."

"…well…it was tough for Jill, that's for sure," Hunter muttered.

"...hrm..." Sonia hummed, narrowing her eyes a little. "...Hunter. You, King and the others knew her from that time... so, do you know _what_ that hunk of junk did to her?"

"…wait, what?" Hunter was suddenly confused by what Sonia was asking.

"...well, Metal Sonic did something that seems to have shaken Jill up." Sonia noted. "What did he do?"

Hunter just kept staring at Sonia with a blank stare.

"…Sonia…Metal Sonic didn't hurt Jill, if that's what you're thinking," he answered.

"Then what did he do?" Sonia pressed. "When I brought up that incident from two years ago, she seemed really startled! I'm concerned about her; what if that metallic bozo shows up again and decides to do something worse? No one ever said that he was dead, or anything, so..."

Hunter grew solemn.

"…the public doesn't know shit about Metal Sonic," he uttered.

Sonia's eyes widened. "...what?" she uttered flatly. "Are you... Hunter, are you still drunk from last night?"

"…now that I think about it, maybe, but not about this," Hunter said. "…no matter what the public believes about that, it's not the same as what really happened…"

"...but... it's Metal Sonic we're talking about!" Sonia argued. "The last remnant of Ivo Robotnik's legacy! And it's not rocket science; he was rotten to the core, as was whatever machines he ever built throughout his life!"

Hunter remained calm.

"…No. Metal Sonic wasn't rotten to the core… if he was, then he wouldn't have been able to change the way he did…"

"...change?" Sonia uttered. "How can a machine change, exactly?"

"…mysterious powers… and the compassion of a friend," Hunter muttered.

"..._what?_" Sonia uttered dryly once more, before shaking her head. "Alright; I'm telling Ani to keep you away from alcohol for at least a week; because you deal with hangovers in _weird_ ways."

Hunter slammed his hand right down on the counter. "You don't get it Sonia," he said. "She's been through the same kind of hardship that me and King went through with our past. Jill embarked on a journey that followed the footsteps of Sonic the Hedgehog himself... …and she's the reason that Metal Sonic was halted in his attempt to take over the world in Eggman's footsteps."

Sonia opened her mouth to call Hunter out on how Jill couldn't possibly have gone through what they had gone through, but she just sort of stopped when Hunter added that last part. "...what?"

"…the reason Jill was startled by you mentioning Metal Sonic…was because she was the one hero that stood up to him and set him back from his plans," Hunter answered. "…the public was told that it was Shadow on his dying breath…but it was her…"

"...she did...?" Sonia uttered. "...that's-"

"Mmmh... I thought I heard some lively conversation in here."

Sonia instantly flinched. "...Hunter... don't tell me that the queen of creeps just came in here?" she growled between clenched teeth, without looking away from the wolf.

"…ignore her, and maybe she'll go away," Hunter muttered.

"Hm. Courteous as always, Hunter." a female octopus scoffed, slithering over to the counter with a thin, long pipe held between her fingers. "I just stopped by for a quick pick-me-up before I'd head off with a new conquest."

"...Hex, please take offense to this; I couldn't care less about your conquests than the last bag of snacks I chowed down on." Sonia murmured, still not looking at the octopus. "So please, keep your trap shut, and we can all move on."

"Mmmh... so vicious," the octopus, Hex, commented. "No wonder you haven't found a man yet, Heartbreaker."

"...Hunter, hold me back." Sonia hissed, gripping fiercely down on the counter. "I will kick that woman out of here if I get the chance."

Hunter only glared at Hex. "…what do you want this time, Hex?" he asked, folding his arms.

"Who, me?" Hex chuckled. "And here I thought that you knew me, Hunter..."

"...the problem is that we know you far too well." Sonia remarked.

"Touché." Hex chuckled again. "In any case, it's early, I had an exhausting routine last night, and I need a little spark of energy so I won't fall asleep on the job."

"Oh, so now it's a job?" Sonia huffed. "How delightful."

"See, it's that sort of attitude that turns men off." Hex noted, before she took a drag from her pipe.

Hunter just kept glaring at her, but he turned his back to get what Hex wanted.

Door opened once again, but a different familiar character showed up. "Damn, yesterday's battle sure left a few bruises," Cowpoke the bloodhound commented, stretching out his arm.

Sonia glanced back at Cowpoke, and regarded a nod to him. "Finally, someone who _isn't_ hunting anything that moves."

"Honestly, I find your snide remarks quite worrying." Hex mused with a slight smirk. "Feel like talking it over?"

"Fat chance." Sonia scoffed.

"Ah, you two…" Cowpoke muttered, taking a seat at the counter next to Sonia.

"...mmmh..." Hex hummed, as she glanced at Cowpoke. "...now you seem like my kind of man." she chuckled, placing one of her tentacles on the bloodhound's shoulder; much to Sonia's chagrin. "Would you care to accompany a lady over to her chambers later on?"

"You know Hex… I'll have to turn down your offer, sorry," Cowpoke replied, "To be honest, you remind me of a dirty gas station bathroom because only desperate men would use you if it came down to it."

Hunter almost stumbled hearing that, trying to hold back laughter with a hand. He's never heard anyone talk to Hex that way… One could see Hex's smirk sink a little, as her tentacle clenched down a bit tighter on Cowpoke's shoulder. "...you... have _no_ idea what you're talking about, _mutt._" she uttered through clenched teeth.

"Ooh, do I detect rage?" Sonia laughed, picking Hex's tentacle off Cowpoke. "That's actually pretty sad, coming from you."

"...hmph." Hex scoffed, turning away so the three couldn't see just how miffed she looked.

"There's a difference between a mutt like me… and a tramp like you," Cowpoke continued with a smirk. "Gotta be a good role model for my boy, don't I?"

Hunter actually had to hold his nose to keep from laughing, and he stuck a mug in front of Hex. "Your mocha with -KKKKH….with two shots of alcohol…" he uttered, still holding back his chuckles.

Hex grit her teeth, grabbing the mug with one tentacle and coiling the rest of them tightly. "...Not. A. Word." she snarled.

"Oh, he's had more than one word, already." Sonia laughed.

That prompted Hex to just shoot from her seat, before she headed for the exit, mug in hand. "I'll send Mordecai to pay for it later." she murmured under her breath.

Hunter waited until he was sure that Hex was gone from the pub entirely before he finally let out his laughter. "I don't think anyone's actually driven off Hex that fast before!" he laughed.

"Well, leave it to a farm animal to offend somebody," Cowpoke said with a shrug.

"You didn't just offend her; you outright _humiliated_ her!" Sonia laughed, doing her best to stay on the stool. "For Hex, that's the equivalent of declaring war on her; a war that you'll never lose!"

"Is that so?" Cowpoke asked with interest. "Well, it's not the first war I've ever started with somebody. Guess there's 'bout five of 'em that I started wars with now?"

"So Hex is your fifth?" Sonia chuckled. "Who are the other ones?"

"Well one of 'em's my Pa that I started when I was just a youngin'," Cowpoke said; "The other three, counting out the one with Hex now, started with some of them soldiers on that ferry when I was standin' up for yer friend."

"Say, how's yer friend with the baby doing anyway?" Cowpoke asked curiously.

"...who, Jill?" Sonia hummed, before she drummed her fingers together. "...she's doing better. She usually spends time with her daughter, so I don't see her outside that often... which is kind of understandable, since I have to help Queen out with training..."

Then, she cast Cowpoke a glance. "...you and your buddies haven't run into a fat pig, have they?" she inquired.

"…Mud-Pie did," Cowpoke said. "Decided to try and pick a fight with him like what his daddy usually does. Thing is, I know which fights to pick and he don't, so he came running back to me with his tail between his legs, claiming that the guy was gonna kill him… but that's just about the only time I recall seein' him."

Sonia shuddered. "Be lucky that he came running back. Rule of thumb; _never_ challenge Spiel to a fight. You'll be lucky to get out of it with _just_ broken limbs."

"Well, once I explained it to him it seemed like he had the decency to let it go and forgive him," Cowpoke said. "Then the guy walked away like nuthin' happened."

"…seein' guys that strong makes me worry. I've seen just about enough of this place to get the feel of it, and a timid little thing like your friend in a place like this is scary with a baby."

"…are you really that worried about Jill?" Hunter asked curiously.

Cowpoke nodded; "Coming from one parent to another, y'know."

"...understandable." Sonia mused. "...well, Hunter would know more about parenting than me, but I see where you're coming from." she reasoned. "...though, she's adamant; determined to keep Joy safe from any hoodlums who'd wanna hurt her... like Hex..." Again, Sonia shuddered. "I'm just thankful that Spiel has the common courtesy to stray away from babies..."

"…one can only hope," Hunter muttered. Then he looked to Cowpoke. "…so…did you come in here to have something?"

"Just a cup of Joe, if you would be so kind bud'," Cowpoke said with a nod.

Hunter nodded back. "Sure thing," and he grabbed a mug to pour some coffee into for him.

"Thanks," Cowpoke said when Hunter handed him the mug.

"...I'm not really a coffee person." Sonia remarked, rubbing her neck. "And it's too early to drink booze, so... Hunter, think I could get a soda?"

"Sure," Hunter said, reaching into a fridge underneath the counter to grab a can of cola to give Sonia.

"…so what's the story with that Diablo guy and that little girl?" Cowpoke asked.

Hunter flinched. "…excuse me?"

"You know? Creepy guy in black with a little owl girl in a black dress with him," Cowpoke said.

"We know Diablo…but since when did a little girl start following him around?" Hunter asked.

"...you know, this is news to me." Sonia hummed, as she opened the can. "I make it a habit to steer clear of Diablo, as any sane being on this island should, but a girl is actually following him around?"

"Yeah, I even heard her call the guy her "Big Brother"," Cowpoke said.

"…I need to report that to Sage…" Hunter muttered under his breath so the two of them wouldn't hear him.

Cowpoke gulped down the rest of the coffee in the mug then and set money on the counter. "Thanks for the time," he said with a tip of his hat. "Gotta make it back so I ain't late for today's training!" and he hurried out the door.

"...which reminds me; Queen's probably waiting for me." Sonia hummed, as she put the can to her lips. "Better finish this quickly." she mused, as she began drinking the cola, while also taking time to fish out some money to place on the counter.

"…Sonia, about what I said about Jill earlier," Hunter started.

"...hm?" Sonia hummed, shooting Hunter a glance.

"…just remember not to say anything about Jill to anyone else. You know as much as I do how quickly rumors can spread," Hunter said; "…Will already spread that damn rumor that Jill was really a witch, so we don't need to give them more ammo."

"…I probably even said too much to you, to be honest," Hunter added.

Sonia hummed, nodding a little. "...my lips are sealed." she mused, before she set the empty can down on the counter next to the money.

"See ya," Hunter bid, watching Sonia leave.

* * *

><p>Jill rocked slowly back and forth in the rocking chair, holding a sleeping Joy in her arms. She just fed her not too long ago, so it was expected that Joy would fall asleep. Jill thought she looked adorable with those rosy, furry cheeks of hers, and seeing her sleep almost made Jill a little drowsy. After all, Joy woke up in the middle of the night twice or three times, so Jill didn't get sleep very often.<p>

But she knew that she could never sleep… not in a place like this. Jill was used to lack of sleep for years of isolation and survival… and even being around the Clubhouse, she could hardly sleep. Her insomnia was just part of the trauma of most of the things she went through…she never slept if she knew there was a chance for an ambush… or anything bad like that.

"_Brownie, you need sleep. No matter what we do, you just won't try to rest…"_

"_I know…but I keep telling you Brick, I can't…I'm just not a big sleeper…"_

"_One of these days you're going to be too damn exhausted to do anything… you might even push yourself too far… I'm just worried about you, that's all, Brownie."_

"…_I know…and I appreciate that."_

"_You'll only appreciate it if you get sleep."_

Jill would've chuckled sadly if she could. If Brick was alive, she knew he would still be saying that to her…

…looking down at Joy, she only wished so much that he was still here… that he could see their beautiful child sleeping like this.

Then Jill's hunter-trained ears perked. Outside, she thought she heard some rustling, or a twig snapping, or something. The point was that it was a very unsettling sound, and Jill stood up quickly out of the rocking chair with Joy.

Had it been Sonia, she would've just walked right into the door. Someone was sneaking around outside…and call it paranoia, but Jill's always had to be careful.

Jill held Joy protectively close, and she went toward one of the windows, hiding by its wall so she could take a peek without being noticed. At first, she didn't see anything out there… but she heard that sound again. It sounded like someone stepping through the leaves and brush outside…

She was right, someone was sneaking around… question was, what were their intentions sneaking around like that?

Jill didn't want to stick around to find out, and she hurried to the guest room, picking up a blanket and wrapping it around Joy to protect her further, in case she might have to run away to find Sonia, or King, or Sage; whoever she could find.

Then she went to the window with the intention of climbing out of it, and that's when she saw what was outside and she gasped, hiding by the wall again.

Outside were three Mobians, and they were chattering quietly. Two of them were brown horses, but they were different ones than the one that was on the ferry, picking on Jill before. One was a woman, with her horse-hair in long ginger red dreadlocks wound up in a ponytail, and heavy mascara around her eyes. She wore almost next to nothing but rags and a lot of bracelets around her arms and ankles. The other was a male, with the same kind of ginger red dreadlocks on him that hung down nearly covering his face. While he had a lot of muscle build, he was actually pretty slim and very tall and lanky. The only thing that bulged out was his arms and fists. The third one was a female rat, who, fittingly enough, had her hair styled in a rat-tail fashion. She wore very punkish clothing, and she had a lit cigarette in her mouth.

"Listen up; Hex paid us to nab the girl and the baby in there, and I don't want you two to screw things up," the female horse said, sounding quite bossy. "After all, the last thing I want is that slithering little bitch to put her tentacles on me…"

The male horse only made a low growl, glaring down at the female horse. He didn't seem to like her very much.

"...whatever." the rat scoffed in an apathetic tone, rolling her eyes. "Just knock her out before she can figure out what's up, and take her and the baby to that octo-whore. Easy pickings."

"There's only one door, but there are a bunch of windows, so take your pick on which one. Just make sure to surround her so we can grab her," the female horse continued.

Jill heard enough of what she wanted to know, and she darted out the door of the guest room. She had to get out of here and run! So she picked one window in the living room and climbed out of that, making sure that none of the three Mobians were nearby.

Then she ran.

Running caused Joy to wake up and she wailed out of frustration from being woken up. This scared Jill, because that would mean—

"THERE SHE IS!" screamed the female horse from back there. "She's getting away!" Yes, they must have heard Joy and spotted Jill right away.

So Jill frantically picked up the pace as fast as her legs could go, which was actually pretty fast. She's had years of experience running…

"...you can't outrun us; not with the baby." Though, shockingly, the rat had broken into a run as well and started to catch up to Jill quite rapidly. So was the tall male horse, running just as fast as the rat.

Jill started to panic seeing the two of them catching up to her like this, and she held Joy even tighter to try and run faster, even though she couldn't run any faster than she was already running.

Soon, the rat was running right alongside Jill, shooting her a look of indifference. "...give it up."

Jill was shocked that she had gotten that far.

"HA!"

Jill only had time to look forward, meeting with a long pole to her face. This stopped her easily, causing her to slip on her footing and tumble over on the ground. She did her best to keep Joy in the blanket so the poor thing wouldn't get hurt.

When she stopped tumbling, the male horse snatched up Jill effortlessly with his large hands, and Jill tried to struggle desperately but to no avail. With one large hand, he easily took Joy right out of Jill's hands, and Jill started freaking out, trying to kick the horse.

But he was not affected at all by her kicking, staring at the baby that he could so easily carry in his large palm.

"Finally," groaned the female horse, possessing a long staff that probably was responsible for hitting Jill in the middle of her path to stop her

."...so, now that we've got her..." the rat hummed, taking out a piece of cloth and a bottle containing chlorophome from her pockets, "...we should put her to sleep."

Jill shook her head in desperation, and for a moment, she almost forgot that she couldn't talk and she tried to scream. Nothing obviously came out except gasps and panicked breaths, and tears even formed in Jill's eyes out of fear. She could still hear Joy crying for her mother, and it was so terrible to hear something like that for her.

"Good thing she's a mute and can't scream for help," the female horse remarked, folding her arms.

"...true enough." the rat nodded, as she applied some of the chlorophome to the cloth. "The kid screaming is annoying enough." Then, she pressed the cloth right against Jill's face. Jill tried to struggle away from it, but there was no escaping it. The drug took over her senses, and she lost her breath to its stink. Everything faded to black for her, and the sound of Joy's cries drowned out.

Then she fell limp in the male horse's hand.

"...alright." the rat hummed, before she glanced at the horse. "Now we can go back to Hex."

"Right," the female horse said. "Let's go."

The male horse nodded, and started walking with Jill in the grip of one giant hand, and baby Joy in the other. When the rat tried to begin walking, someone gripped her shoulder. "...hn?"

"...now that's no way to treat a single mother and her child." a gruff voice chuckled, gripping tightly down on the rat's shoulder; to the point where they heard her bones beginning to crack.

Both the horses spun around, and both of them growled. In front of them stood a large, fat pig, who had a wicked grin on his face as he kept gripping the rat's shoulder, to the point where she was beginning to scream from the pain. "...now, let the two of them go, and I'll be kind to ya."

"Hex is paying us a fortune for these two," the female horse said, clenching her fist. "I'm not backing down if it means a good payment."

The male horse rolled his eyes at that, but all the same, he glared at the pig in front of them.

"...hmph... a shame." the pig chuckled, before he looked at the rat. "What about you? Are you gonna be smart?"

The rat shot him a defiant look. "...fuck you, Spiel."

Grinning wider, Spiel immediately let go of the rat, before cupping his hands and slamming them down on the rat's head; with enough force to burrow her half-way into the ground.

The female horse grit her teeth and took the struggling baby from the male horse. "Get 'him, Brute!"

The male horse, referred to as Brute, dropped the unconscious Jill onto the ground and rushed at Spiel with his large, massive arms. Spiel, however, only turned to look at Brute with a grin, before he allowed himself to be wailed on... but not once did he even grunt in pain.

The female horse looked intimidated by the fact that Spiel wasn't even in pain when Brute was beating on him. Usually, Brute was… well, a brute. Not many things could stand up to him.

After a while, Spiel actually began laughing. "Don't tell me that's all you got? Come on; hit me with all you have!"

Brute snarled at Spiel and tried as hard as he could to hit Spiel with large, massive punches. Sure, one could see that the punches were knocking Spiel about, and blood sprayed from his mouth for every punch... but still, the only sound he made was laughter.

The female horse decided that this was too much, and she quickly tried to yank Jill up and slump her over her shoulder, running off with her and Joy in her arms to leave Brute behind.

"...not so fast!"

With just a single punch, Brute was sent flying away from Spiel at a terrifying speed; passing by the female horse before crashing into the trees ahead of her.

"...you're not thinking of running away... are ya?" Spiel chuckled, as he cracked his neck slowly, to deliberately make the sound of his bones snapping in place as sickeningly loud as he could.

The female horse shuddered, slowly looking back at Spiel, while Brute weakly tried getting back up on his own feet.

"...just stay still..." Spiel chuckled. "...and let me go all out." As he said that, he slowly gripped the rat that was still stuck in the ground... and proceeded to not only yank her up, but the very ground she was stuck in as well; heaving it over his shoulder like a mace, with the rat acting as the handle.

That caused the female horse to drop both Jill and Joy, and Joy hitting the ground proceeded to make her cry even more loudly in pain.

Brute rushed past the female horse with a roar, toward Spiel. With a laugh, Spiel gripped the rat even tighter, before he swung the mace right at the incoming Brute with all his might. Brute didn't expect the impact it would have, and it slammed him right back down into the ground.

"….I-Ivory…" Brute uttered weakly, trying to get back up. "…run…"

But the female horse, Ivory, was too startled to even run. Brute ran back at Spiel, trying for another attack. Spiel continued to cackle, as he swung the mace down at Brute yet again; not even letting him get close enough to throw a punch. Brute was being beaten to a weaker and weaker state each time, and Ivory wasn't sure if she was able to watch any more of it, but she couldn't move because her eyes were so drawn to this battle.

"You're mine!" Spiel laughed, before he swung the mace one last time; with enough force to shatter the chunk of rock upon impact with Brute. A big dust cloud puffed up into the air when Brute was hit, and Ivory saw how bad a shape Brute was in when the dust cloud cleared. She shuddered again and took a step back.

"...you're next." Spiel chuckled, tossing the rat aside, before he took a step forward.

In that instant, a crimson-red aura exploded around Spiel, blowing the remaining dust aside, and even making the trees sway to the side because of the gust following it.

"…Ivory… I said run…" Brute uttered, while blood trickled down his face from underneath his dreadlocks.

But Ivory remained, petrified with fear at what she was staring at.

Baby Joy even ceased crying; staring at this without any sense of understanding at what was going on, but it was enough to steal the infant's attention.

His grin growing wider, Spiel walked closer and closer to Ivory, the aura around him actually taking the shape of a skeletal head looming above him; glaring daggers at the horse.

"…N-no… please…" Ivory uttered, stepping back away from him even more.

"...what's wrong?" Spiel chuckled. "You think this is cruel? You think this is horrible?" he taunted, the aura intensifying the closer he got. "You think that excuses you from trying to hand over an infant to Hex?"

Ivory fell silent, and ended up backing right into a tree, and while she could've run around it to be honest, she was cornered.

"...even though I'm not the kind of guy who could be a proper dad, I gotta tell ya; kids are precious." Spiel chuckled. "I wouldn't wanna see them get hurt... but hired mooks, on the other hand, are a completely different story." Stopping right in front of Ivory, Spiel's grin widened. "...any last words?"

Ivory trembled underneath the pig.

"No!"

Ivory took a minute to blink, looking over at little baby Joy. "No no no!" Joy called out, kicking her legs. "No no no no no!"

Blinking, Spiel slowly looked towards Joy as well. "...hn?"

"No no!" Joy kept saying, pounding her tiny hands onto the ground.

Ivory right now was baffled by this. Spiel seemed surprised as well, before he eventually looked back at Ivory...

...and he still raised his fist. Ivory flinched, shutting her eyes and holding her hands over her head protectively, as if that would actually do anything to save her.

Then, with a loud and mighty cry, Spiel threw his fist forward...

...and it narrowly missed her; punching the tree behind her with so much force that the top of it was blown right off; along with a powerful gust of wind knocking down several more trees. However, Ivory was unharmed. Ivory took a minute to comprehend that she actually wasn't harmed, and slowly, she opened her eyes. The attack Spiel did startled Joy considerably, and she started crying again helplessly.

"...be thankful that the kid granted you mercy." Spiel chuckled, as the aura subsided. "Take your buddies and get yourself patched up. But if I see any of you try anything like this again, I'll just have to toss you to King. You wouldn't want that, right?" With that chuckle, Spiel began walking towards Jill and Joy.

"…wha…?" Ivory stood there, watching Spiel walk to them, and Joy's crying subsided a bit when the child saw the large pig walking toward them.

Eventually, Spiel stopped in front of the two; looking down at Joy with a calmer look on him. Joy continued to cry a little bit and whimper, looking up at Spiel with pouty lips.

"...heh."

With a small chuckle, Spiel sat down and closed his eyes. "...you think I'm scary, don't you?" he mused. Joy uttered a few scared coughs and whimpered some more.

"...I'll take that as a yes." Spiel mused, before he folded his arms. "...I get _why_ you think I'm scary... but you shouldn't worry. I don't hurt kids like you... and as long as circumstances stay the way they are, I won't hurt your mother, either."

Joy just kept sniveling and whimpering, not really understanding what Spiel was saying. "…No?" she muttered.

Spiel chuckled again. "...you keep working on your vocabulary." he mused, before he glanced to the side; where Jill had run from to begin with. "...so, you want me to take you and your mom back home?"

Joy didn't answer, whining again, and then she turned her head. Brute was getting back up, and he picked up the rat so that he and Ivory could walk away; although Ivory had to help him walk because he could barely limp away.

Spiel glanced back at them as well. "...I doubt that they'll come after you from now on." he chuckled.

"...JILL!"

Hearing that cry, Spiel turned his head again, to see Sonia come running out of the woods, though stopping the moment she saw the pig, and Jill lying unconscious on the ground. "...Spiel... what did you do?" she yelled.

"...well, this is an awkward situation, I'd say." Spiel hummed, before he slowly stood up, still looking at Sonia.

"No!" Joy reached her hands toward Sonia, recognizing her and wanting her. "No no no!"

Though surprised that Joy somehow learned that word, Sonia hurried to Joy's side, quickly picking her up. "...there, there, Joy; it's gonna be alright..." After saying that, she shot Spiel a glare. "...if you've hurt them, I swear to god, I will murder you!"

"You've certainly grown attached to them in such a short time." Spiel chuckled. "But before you blow this out of proportion, get a load of this; I didn't hurt them. I just kept them from being kidnapped."

"...kidnapped?" Sonia uttered, narrowing her eyes. "In broad daylight? Spiel, don't lie to me! What did you do?"

"...why don't you ask Hex about it?" Spiel retorted.

Joy clung to Sonia, looking down at Jill who was still unconscious, and she whimpered again. She still wanted her mommy. "...Hex?" Sonia uttered, slowly looking towards Jill.

"...unless you're afraid of going to her mansion, that is." Spiel chuckled, before he walked towards Jill.

"Ah- don't touch her!" Sonia yelled.

"She was knocked out by some chlorophome." Spiel noted calmly, before he placed a hand on Jill and shook her a little. "My guess is that Hex wanted to enjoy the surprised look on her face when she woke up."

"...guh." Sonia shuddered, though she watched Jill to see if she'd wake up.

Jill breathed out, and opened her eyes… then when she saw Spiel, she gasped and pushed his hand away, shooting right back up to her feet defensively.

"No!"

That voice stole Jill's attention immediately, and she looked over to see Sonia holding Joy. _…did she just…_ Jill ran to Sonia and took Joy into her arms. Joy put her arms around her mother and held her tight.

"No no!" she uttered with whines and whimpers.

Jill stared at her. _…she's…talking…_

"...caught me off guard, as well." Spiel chuckled.

"...kkh..." Hissing, Sonia looked at Jill. "...come on; let's go home. Then you can tell me what that swine did to you; especially since he won't tell us himself."

"Hey, I already told you what I gathered." Spiel noted, still grinning. "It's not my fault that you just can't trust me, Sonia."

"Actually, it kind of _is_ your fault, Spiel." Sonia hissed. Jill saw what the situation was, and she put her hand on Sonia's shoulder, shaking her head at her.

Sonia blinked, looking at Jill. "...what? Are you... saying that he's not lying?"

"At least _someone_ believes me." Spiel chuckled.

Jill still looked warily at Spiel, giving a very small nod of thanks to him. Then she took Sonia's wrist and pulled her away, back to the cabin.

"Uh- hey, wait..." Sonia uttered as she was pulled along.

Spiel just regarded a nod to them. "...stay safe, Jill and Joy." he mused, before he began walking off on his own.

Jill got back inside the cabin, and once the door shut behind them, Jill knelt down and set Joy down, uncovering the blanket off of her to make sure that she was okay. Then she inspected Joy carefully.

Sonia quickly locked the door behind them, before she approached the two of them. "...is she alright?" Jill nodded up at Sonia, and then picked Joy back up.

"No," Joy said again, when they reached the living room. "No no no no…"

Jill went over to the rocking chair, and sat down, seeing the writing pad on the end table next to her.

…_what did Spiel tell you?_ Jill finally wrote.

"...he..." Sonia began, rubbing her head. "...told me that he hadn't hurt you or Joy, and that I should ask Hex as to why you were apparently knocked out with chlorophome, and Joy was terrified."

Now Jill understood it better. _…well…I overheard three soldiers saying that this Hex paid them to take me and Joy to her, and when I heard that, I tried to run away. They caught me and put me out with a drug before I could do anything… so Spiel wasn't lying as far as I know..._

…_but who's Hex, Sonia?_ Jill finished writing.

Sonia blinked, before she frowned. "...she's... well, I hesitate to use language like that in front of Joy, but..." Then, she tapped her finger against her chin. "...the best way I could describe her in would be like a... gas station toilet. Only really desperate men would want to get with her... but her deal is that she longs to get with _anyone_."

Jill was still a bit confused by the words Sonia chose, and she tilted her head questionably at her.

"...well, to put it bluntly... she's just about the most perverse woman in all of existence." Sonia eventually sighed. "To her, nothing is too obscene or taboo."

That horrified Jill, and she held Joy tighter with a gasp. Did Sonia seriously mean that Hex paid those soldiers to take her and Joy so that Hex could…?

"...so... I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." Sonia uttered, looking at them in disbelief. "...Spiel just saved your lives."

Jill loosened her hold on Joy, looking down at her. Joy starting sucking her thumb again, looking back up at her mother. Jill could never imagine what would've happened if Hex got her hands on them, so now she was somewhat more thankful to Spiel than before…

_To think that there's a woman like that here…and I thought Prowler was disgusting,_ Jill wrote on the notepad.

"...Prowler..." Sonia uttered, tapping her chin. "...wait... you mean that pedo who Ripper killed all those years ago?" she uttered. "Did Sage show you that as well?"

Jill looked at Sonia, almost amazed that she knew. Eventually, she nodded.

"...I see..." Sonia nodded. "...but yeah; Prowler is small-time compared to Hex."

Jill frowned at that.

…_I was partially afraid of this when King talked about starting his nation a few years ago,_ Jill wrote. _…I was afraid that Safe Haven just might turn into the same thing he and his comrades went through, without them knowing it…and already there are some figures here that can haunt them from their past…_

"...well, I wouldn't say it's _as_ bad as it was back then, from what I've been shown." Sonia noted, folding her arms. "But I suppose I can see where you're coming from..."

Jill nodded again. Then she looked back down at Joy. "…no no no," she spoke, touching her mommy's face with her tiny hands. Jill put her own hand on one of Joy's hands.

…_there's one thing I'll make sure of, _Jill wrote at the side, mostly looking at Joy. _I'll make sure that Joy never has to experience anything like what King and his friends went through… or what I had to go through, for that matter. I promise that I will not let her suffer like I did…_

"...right." Sonia nodded. "And I'll make sure to help out as best as I can. If you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

Jill smiled at Sonia for that.

* * *

><p>"…Brute's bones all around his body have been fractured, and Mia's shoulder is completely shattered, along with most of the same broken bones as Brute," Ani said, coming out into the pub where Sage, King and her dad were. "Ivory's had the least amount of damage done, which is some kind of miracle because of what happened."<p>

"What _did_ happen?" Hunter asked curiously.

Ani sighed in disdain. "…Ivory…confessed that Hex paid them to take Jill and Joy for her."

"WHAT?" Hunter roared.

"…but I know only one soldier that can do that damage… and I'm going to guess by how frightened Ivory was that Spiel came and stopped them," Ani said.

"...hmph." King hummed, folding his arms. "...just like him..." he murmured, "...but what Hex did is just inexcusable. I'll deal with Spiel and his methods later, but we can't let Hex slip by like that!"

"I agree." Sage hummed, folding her arms. "But the problem is that... well, _anything_ she's put through, she enjoys."

"…. I suggest solitary confinement," Hunter muttered. "The only thing Hex likes best is company, so we could take that away from her as punishment, right?"

"Knowing her, she'd probably find _some_ way to turn the situation in her favor." Sage mused.

"Alright, how about this..." King hummed. "...solitary confinement, in chains. That includes her tentacles."

Ani shuddered. "…frankly… that's just putting disturbing images in my head…and I think Hex would only enjoy being in chains."

"…we put her in one of the old Prison Island prisons, far away from town and the barracks," Hunter suggested.

"And she finds some old thing she can..." Sage instantly stopped herself, shaking her head. "Why do I say things like that?"

"Argh!" Grunting, King held his head in frustration. "Is it _impossible_ to punish that woman?"

"…she doesn't like people insulting her," Hunter mentioned, chuckling. "Cowpoke sure had her furious this morning…heheh…"

"...hm?" King glanced at Hunter, tilting his head. "No kidding?"

Sage just shot Hunter a look, before she giggled. "Okay, _that's_ funny." she mused.

"…what?" Ani asked.

"He said that Hex was like a dirty gas station bathroom, and that only desperate men would use her if it came down to it," Hunter uttered, still snickering under his breath.

Ani broke out into loud laughter, "He said WHAT?"

King _also_ began laughing loudly at that. "You're right, Sage; that's hysterical!" he cackled.

"…yeah, that Cowpoke is quite a character with a sense of humor," Hunter chuckled. "… Oh yeah! That's reminds me! Don't know if you already know or not, Sage… but there's a little girl following around Diablo now."

"…what?" Ani was baffled to hear that, cutting off her laughter. "When did you hear that?"

"Cowpoke pointed it out this morning when he came for coffee," Hunter answered.

"...a little girl, huh?" Sage hummed. "Strange... I didn't spot any small girls coming on Safe Haven earlier..."

"...maybe she was a stowaway?" King suggested. "In any case, we should find out who that girl is."

"…but why would a little girl follow Diablo around?" questioned Ani folding her arms. "No one would be that dense."

"Well Ani, it's a little girl, so it's not like she's going to know any better," Hunter explained to Ani.

"...it's kind of disconcerting, though..." Sage hummed. "Better to find out why she's with him as fast as possible."

"Right," Ani said.

"…and… this morning I was talking to Sonia," Hunter grew guilty and scratched his head. "…I think… I might've said some things I shouldn't have…"

"…like what, Dad?" Ani questions again suspiciously.

King looked at Hunter with a raised eyebrow, while Sage just sighed; she knew what he had told Sonia.

"…Sonia told me that Jill wrote her…" Hunter was trying to find the words. "…Jill…said that she had the opportunity to meet Metal Sonic himself, and that was all she told Sonia… so Sonia wanted to know if Metal Sonic hurt her…"

"…Dad…" Ani stepped toward her father with an irritated growl. "You didn't blab to Sonia, did you?"

"…not much…" Hunter muttered.

"...what did you tell her?" King uttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Sonia was convinced that Metal Sonic was a bastard that traumatized her!" Hunter said as an excuse, throwing his arms up. "But I denied that and then when she was yelling at me for being stupid in the head and dealing with my hangover in a weird way, I told her that Jill was the one who stopped Metal Sonic in the beginning!"

King blinked. "...you told her... that?" he uttered.

"…that's all I told her, I swear," Hunter muttered. "…and I said that she had a dark past like we did and that she had an adventure like Sonic the Hedgehog, but I said those words. I didn't specify, and I didn't tell her anything else other than that…"

"…that's still pretty risky Dad," Ani growled. "Do you know what could've happened if someone walked in when you said that?"

"Like Hex." Sage noted. "She was _inches_ from catching what you said, if I'm not mistaken."

That was when a chair flew right at Hunter's face, knocking him against the wall. "YOU REALIZE WHAT KIND OF TROUBLE HEX COULD CAUSE IF SHE KNEW THAT KIND OF INFORMATION ABOUT JILL?" screamed Ani. King flinched a little at Ani's outburst.

"Ani, do calm down." Sage shot in. "Yes, we're all aware of what she could and would do if she found out... but I'm sure that if she had found out, then Hunter would have told me, and I could have... well, _tried_ wiping it from her memory."

"...tried?" King noted.

"You know that my psychic powers are a bit too strong when it comes to the minds of others. If I tried removing a memory, it could cause the victim to become a vegetable; effectively murdering her."

"…Geez Ani… did you finally start your period or something?" Hunter growled, wiping the splinters from his face.

"…what's a period?" Ani asked, tilting her head.

Hunter slapped his own forehead. "Oh brother… this is my daughter…"

"…but seriously guys, it'd be pretty bad if Hex knew the things that Jill had been through," Ani continued. "…but it would've been even worse if Hex knew about Callous; what if my Dad started talking about her?"

"...that would be troubling..." Sage noted, folding her arms.

"...but relax! I'm sure not one of us would ever blab about her existence to anyone besides each other!" King said, in an attempt to relieve the tension hanging around them.

"…heck, a week ago when Jill first came here, Raider was asking questions about her," Ani muttered, rubbing her arm nervously. "...you know how nervous Raider makes me. He always somehow finds things out…"

"…let's just calm down, like King said," Hunter added, getting up. "Right now, there's no danger to Jill...and as long as we keep an eye on her, we'll make sure no one abuses her or Joy…"

"…Raider even suggested that Jill be in the training program with the rest of the newcomers Dad," Ani added.

Hunter was shocked. "What?"

"Yeah. He said that even Spiel would agree to Jill being a good candidate for it."

"...hrm." King huffed, folding his arms with a grunt.

"But Ani, Jill's got a baby!" Hunter argued; "A baby that doesn't even have anyone else but her! How in the world to you expect Jill to handle training and taking care of her first child?"

"I don't know Dad…maybe it might help Jill a little bit," Ani muttered, shrugging. "…she needs something to take her mind off of what happened to Brick. I know more than any of you that Jill's been a hermit most of her life because of the things that have happened to her…"

"You're considering taking advice from RAIDER?" Hunter uttered.

King let out a sigh. "...this ain't something we can just push on her." he eventually said. "We gotta let her decide this for herself. Heaven forbid if we let the likes of Raider or Spiel talk her into something she might not be able to handle."

Sage shot King a look. "...how thoughtful of you." she noted.

"Well, I don't want her to push herself too far, y'know." King noted with a nod.

"…at any rate… we'll have to keep an eye on things from now on," Hunter muttered.

"...right." King nodded.

* * *

><p>"MAMA!"<p>

Jill woke up with a jolt, and heard her daughter crying once again… when learning "no" was enough of a surprise, it seemed like Joy developed a new word, and it shocked Jill.

"Mama! Mama!" The little thing was crying hysterically, bringing Jill to pick her up hurriedly and rock her back and forth. Joy continued crying, and it wasn't just a "I'm hungry" or "I need a diaper change" kind of crying. Joy sounded genuinely upset to Jill. "No no no Mama no no nah no Mama…" Joy muttered between sobs.

Jill looked down worriedly at Joy while she rocked back and forth. _…I wonder if she had a nightmare…_ Jill thought. Could infants even have nightmares at such an early age like this?

Soon, the crying died down to gasps, whimpers and sniffles, being comforted by the rocking back and forth. "…Mama….no no Mama…" the baby muttered, nuzzling her head tiredly on Jill's shoulder.

…_I can't believe she's really saying Mama…_ It would've made Jill cry, but for some reason, she wouldn't have it. She only kept rocking Joy back and forth to soothe and calm her down. It even went long enough that Joy fell back soundly asleep again.

At that point, a gentle knocking came from the door. "...everything alright in there?" Sonia inquired from the other side.

Jill set Joy back down gently on the bed, and fortunately, she remained asleep. Then she stood up from the bed and went to the door, opening it and nodding at Sonia.

"...that's good to know." Sonia said with a smile, nodding back. "...you don't have any plans for tonight aside from watching over Joy, right?"

Jill shrugged.

"Right..." Sonia nodded. "...you see, I was thinking of hitting the pub, and... well, with what happened earlier today, I wanted you to know before I headed off. So you'll be staying here, then?"

Jilll nodded.

"Okay." Sonia nodded. "Chances are that I may not get home before morning comes, so just to be safe, I could ask Miser to come over and keep an eye out here. Sound good?"

Jill thought about it. After all, as much as she wanted to deny it, she still hasn't been able to sleep at night…probably because of all the things that could happen while she was asleep.

Jill nodded again at that suggestion.

"Great." Sonia hummed with a slight smile. "I'll give her a quick call, so she should be here in... I suppose ten minutes, tops? Just give me a moment..." After saying that, she walked off; likely to get the phone.

Jill smiled, and looked back at the sleeping Joy while Sonia did that.

It took a short while before Sonia returned. "She's on her way. I'll head out when she gets here..." she began, before she glanced at Joy as well. "...now that's just adorable." she mused with a smile.

Jill nodded in agreement. She went over and took the notepad from the table next to the bed and wrote on it. _…did you hear her before? _

"...you mean when she woke up?" Sonia inquired. "Well, I only heard her crying out, since I was in the other room..." Then, she blinked. "...did she... say a new word?"

Jill smiled even more.

…_she said Mama, _she wrote.

Sonia let out a small, surprised gasp. "Oh my- really?" she uttered. "That's... amazing!" she added with a huge smile.

…_but…it looked like she had a nightmare… _Jill wrote, her smile slowly falling.

"...a nightmare?" Sonia's smile faded, as she tilted her head. "...at such a young age? Really?"

_...my father said I had a nightmare around her age,_ Jill wrote. _...guess it's just something that runs in the family…_

"...huh." Sonia blinked upon hearing that, before slowly nodding. "...I don't suppose you remember what nightmares you had back then?"

Jill made a small gasp.

Oh, Jill remembered her nightmares alright; ALL of them… especially when they concerned a dark figure in her past. She couldn't help but shudder a bit, just thinking about.

"...I'll take that as a yes?" Sonia assumed, before sighing. "Sorry if it brought up any bad memories..."

…_I had nightmares…a lot,_ Jill wrote. _...and even now, they scare me…but don't worry about it. I haven't had nightmares for a long time…_

"...that's a good thing." Sonia noted. "...but I do wonder what kind of nightmares Joy would have..."

Jill wondered that too. Only one thing could have to do with it.

…_Sonia, how scary could Spiel be?_ She wrote.

Sonia blinked. "...well... it really depends on whether or not you're on his good side." she mused. "If you are, he'd probably just seem like an overly friendly, if somewhat pushy guy... but there's no telling what he could pull if you ended up on his bad side."

Jill nodded.

…_and you said Joy was frightened when you found us with Spiel? _She wrote again.

"...well, she was pretty hysterical when I found you guys. For a toddler, anything Spiel could pull in a battle could be seen as terrifying." Sonia noted.

…_I guess that's true,_ Jill wrote.

Just then, they heard knocking on the front door.

"Oh, that must be Miser!" Sonia noted, before she walked towards the door. "I'll get it!" Jill watched her walk away, and then she looked back at Joy, who was still sleeping and sucking her thumb.

Opening the door, Sonia smiled when she saw the female rhino on the other side. "Thanks for coming on such a short notice, Miser." she said, before letting the rhino enter.

"Don't mention it." Miser said with a smile, before she looked at Jill, and gave her a nod. "Hi, Jill."

Jill smiled at Miser and waved a little.

"Right; I'm off, then!" Sonia called, as she began heading outside. "Don't wait up for me!" she added, before she was out of sight.

"...she's certainly something else." Miser mused with a smile, before she closed the door.

_Yeah, she is, _Jill wrote. _…what's her story?_

"...Sonia's story..." Miser hummed, rubbing her chin. "...I'm not too sure. She _was_ one of the first people aside from King, myself and the others that came to Safe Haven. But I don't usually look into the past of others..."

_I see, _Jill wrote. _I guess I'll have to ask Sonia sometime about her…_

"Maybe so." Miser nodded.

"…Mama…"

Jill jumped and looked back. She saw Joy shuddering on the bed there and whimpering, but she was still asleep. So she went over and sat next to Joy, rubbing her head to comfort her and calm her down.

Miser hummed. "...she called you mama... that's sweet." she noted with a small smile.

Jill smiled up at Miser. Joy went back to sucking her thumb, and she even nuzzled up to Jill's thigh.

* * *

><p>Swinging the door to the pub open, Sonia glanced around her to see if anyone else was in there at the moment, whilst she approached the counter. Actually, the pub was pretty lively tonight with a lot of the soldiers in there talking and laughing and having a good time.<p>

"Hi Sonia!" Ani was waiting on a few tables, going back and forth between the counter and tables. "I'll be right with you in a minute!"

"Thanks, Ani!" Sonia called with a smile, before she found an open seat by the counter; sitting down on it.

Eventually, Ani finally made it back to the counter, leaning toward Sonia. "What'll it be?" she asked.

"Hmm..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin a little. "...how long has it been since I got really wasted, Ani? Two months, now?"

Ani chuckled, "Don't know, but you sure you want to get that drunk again? You claimed that you'd never drink again after last time!"

"Yeah; and I've said the same thing every other time I've ever gotten wasted." Sonia chuckled. "Just serve me something with some bite in it. Oh, and don't forget the ice cubes!"

Ani chuckled some more. "Okay, you asked for it." And she went to get the stuff.

A few more people entered the pub, and one of them decided to sit right next to Sonia. "Well, I haven't seen you here for awhile, Sonia."

Sonia let out a small sigh. "...probably because you haven't been here the times I _have_ been around, Raider." she murmured, shooting the one next to her a glance.

"Right, maybe," grumbled the black ox next to her, hunching over on the counter.

"Not just maybe; _definitely._" Sonia mused, before she glanced away from the ox.

"I'm getting the feeling that you're _intentionally_ avoiding me," he chuckled.

"As any sane individual _would_." Sonia retorted. "The only reason I'm here tonight is because I felt like having a good time tonight, and any time with you would be a bad time, Raider."

"Aw, what's the matter?" Raider chuckled. "I thought you used to like little old Raider…"

"Can it Raider," Ani threw in, giving Sonia her drink.

"Didn't your dad teach you manners about jumping into conversations, Ani?" Raider muttered, folding his arms.

"He taught me to stick up for my friends when punks like you are bugging them," Ani replied, walking away.

"You tell him." Sonia scoffed, before she took a small sip of her drink.

"…so… I heard about the incident this afternoon involving Hex," Raider continued. "It sure was a good thing Spiel showed up to stop them… it would be a shame for delicate things like your friend and her baby to be wasted on Hex…"

"Oh what, and you'd be a better candidate, Raider?" Ani supposed.

"I wasn't going to say that," Raider said.

"Sure," Ani grumbled, glaring at him. "But you were thinking about it."

"...and don't think about it right now, if that's what you're thinking about at the moment." Sonia shot in, before she took a larger sip of her drink; when she set it down, she shook a little. "_Man_, that's strong..."

"…Ani, have you even told your dad and his friends about my suggestion?" Raider wondered curiously. "You know; that Jill should be part of the training program?"

Ani fell silent.

"…if she's going to live on the island after all, she ought to learn to defend herself…" Raider added.

Sonia shot Raider a look. "You suggested what?" she uttered in disbelief. "...oh, I can't believe you, sometimes..." she groaned, before she drank more of her alcoholic beverage.

"Well, if Ani says that Jill's taken down creatures bigger than me, then I suppose it wouldn't be too hard for her," Raider chuckled.

When he said that, some of the chatter around them died down. "Did you say someone took down a creature bigger than you?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Raider! Keep your pie-hole shut!" Ani growled.

"Hey, come on, that sounds interesting!" another soldier chimed in.

Sonia's focus was on her drink now, so she kept quiet.

"I would ask Ani. She knows all about it," suggested Raider.

"I'm not telling any of you anything and that's that!" Ani yelled. Her yell caused more of the crowd in the bar to hush down, and a tense silence filled the air. The only sound that rang through the air for a brief moment was Sonia setting her empty glass on the counter; still being silent.

"…geez Ani, what's the matter with you?" asked another soldier.

"What's wrong is that you guys think talking about the new people that come here is a fun joke!" Ani growled. "There's nothing funny about what that woman went through, okay?"

"Who? You mean that lady with the baby girl?" another soldier asked.

"She took down someone bigger than Raider? Seriously?" a different soldier asked.

"...hrm." Sonia huffed, though she just looked down at her glass.

"…what she went through, huh?" Raider mused. "Well then… I wonder what she went through if it gave her those blood red eyes."

"No more Raider!" Ani yelled, pointing at him. "One more word about her and I'm throwing you out!"

"Red eyes? What?" one soldier asked.

"Yeah, Will said that when he fought that woman she got red eyes," another answered, "and that was when he was being whooped."

"Knowing Will, it's just an excuse for losing to a girl," the next one remarked. "He's never been the strongest warrior."

"Yeah; I mean, he was calling her a witch when he stormed out of the arena, but it was probably just because he got his ass handed to him like that." another soldier chuckled.

"...be quiet, already."

Some of the soldiers glanced over to the counter, where they saw Sonia just looking at her glass with a frown. "...what's wrong?" one soldier asked her.

"Yeah Sonia, what's wrong?" Raider repeated mockingly, looking at Sonia with a grin.

"...I came here to have a good time." Sonia replied with a murmur. "You guys talking about my friend behind her back like this... do you think I'm enjoying myself, right now?"

"…sorry Sonia, I didn't realize she was your friend," another soldier apologized, and his table turned away to talk among themselves. The same thing happened with the rest of the soldiers; they turned back to their own tables and whispered and talked between each other.

"…well…at least they know not to mess with Sonia Heartbreaker if they get her mad," Ani mused, setting her hands on her hips. Then she glared at Raider, leaning close to him to whisper. "I thought I told you to leave her alone!"

"I recall that you weren't going to tell me anything about her; not to leave her alone," Raider corrected.

"...you just keep your filthy hands away from her." Sonia warned, shooting Raider a fierce glance, before looking at Ani. "Can I get another one?"

"Yeah," Ani said to Sonia, walking away.

"…tch…you're no fun," Raider muttered, getting up from the counter and walking out of the pub.

When he was gone, Sonia huffed. "I think I'll have a _lot_ more fun when you're gone." she murmured.

"Finally, I thought he wouldn't leave," Ani muttered, setting another drink down in front of Sonia.

"Thanks, Ani." Sonia said with a small smile, taking a sip from the drink. "I was afraid that I'd spend the rest of the night being angry-drunk; that's the _worst_ kind of being drunk."

"You said it," Ani said.

With a nod, Sonia drank more of what was in the glass.

The pub door opened again and someone came to sit next to Sonia once again. This time, it wasn't anybody they knew; a sloth with a really rough looking haircut.

Setting the half-full glass down, Sonia glanced at him. "...new around here, huh?" she mused.

"Yeah, I'm one of the newcomers," the sloth replied. "My name's Lazlo."

"...Lazlo, huh?" Sonia hummed, before nodding. "My name's Sonia. Welcome to Safe Haven." Then, she took another sip of her drink.

"Thanks," the sloth, Lazlo replied.

"…you want anything?" Ani asked curiously.

"No, I don't drink, thanks," Lazlo replied, shaking his head.

"You don't drink?" Sonia hummed when she had finished what was in her glass. "That's uncommon among newcomers." she noted.

Lazlo shrugged. "I just didn't like the taste…"

"...you get used to it." Sonia mused with a shrug. "I can buy you something not as strong, if you want."

"No, it's fine," Lazlo answered. "Besides, you never know what kind of things can happen to you if you're drunk…"

"Tell me about it," Ani muttered, leaning against the counter.

"...eh, I'm not too worried about that." Sonia mused. "I can take my liquor fairly well."

"Well, I probably couldn't handle it really well, so I like to be careful," Lazlo replied.

"Suit yourself." Sonia mused, before she looked at Ani. "Can I get another one?" she inquired, before a small hiccup emerged from her.

Lazlo looked at her with curiosity. "…If you get too drunk…I can escort you home if you want," he muttered, raising his eye brow.

"...no, that won't be necessary." Sonia noted. "I got a guest over there, and I don't want to let her see me drunk off my ass."

"Ah, I see," Lazlo replied, nodding.

"Right." Sonia nodded in return. "...so, where's the drink, Ani?"

"Oh, right," Ani chuckled sheepishly, going to get her another tall glass.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Little Does Sonia know what trouble lies ahead for her! And How unfortunate that the only reason Joy learned the word "Mama" was from a nightmare...<em>**


	3. Chapter 3

_Sonia was standing in the middle of a forest… this forest wasn't like the one on Safe Haven though. This was a very unfamiliar forest to her… and the air was very cool and thin up here, passing through the trees in a cool breeze that could pass through Sonia's soul with how soft it was…_

_"...where... is this...?" Sonia uttered, as she looked around her; taking a few steps forward in slight awe._

"…_Sonia Heartbreaker…I believe that's your name, right?"_

_There was a female sheep standing there, taller than Sonia and she looked at her with a pair of blind green eyes. She looked quite similar to a certain someone else, only this woman was older, and yet...still so young looking. Her long curly pale brown wool-like hair fell out from the hood of her long cloak that she wore._

_Sonia blinked. "...yeah... that's my name." she nodded. "...what's your name...?"_

"_I am Goddess," she answered._

_"...Goddess... huh..." Sonia uttered. "...how did you know my name?"_

"…_I am a wandering spirit that watches over everything for my master, Light Gaia," Goddess answered._

_"...Light Gaia?" Sonia uttered. "...the... counterpart to that old monster, Dark Gaia?"_

_Goddess nodded, "Yes."_

_"...okay... this is weird..." Sonia uttered to herself. "...why are you meeting with me, anyway?"_

"_To show you something, regarding your friend with the child…" Goddess spoke. Then she started walking. "…you are on Mt. Solitude, and here lives a village hidden deep within the forest mountain summit…" _

_"...a village? Really?" Sonia uttered, walking after Goddess._

_Goddess nodded._

"…_this was the village that Jillian was born and raised up in."_

_"...really?" Sonia uttered. "...Jillian's her full name, huh..."_

_Goddess nodded again._

_Soon, the scent of moist rain grew heavy through the woods, and drips started to hit the earth in calming patters._

"…_she wasn't always mute…"_

_Giggles rang through the air, and a group of children ran around, climbing trees and running circles around the forest, while getting soaked in the rain._

"_Hey Jill, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" asked a little buck, looking like he was just about to start growing his horns._

"_I wanna be Captain of the Guard just like my Daddy!" _

_It was a little girl ewe that seemed to look just like Joy, but there were slightly different features to this little one. Her hair was curled up, and her bangs held one single curly lock, and her clothes consisted of a stitched up green coat around her body._

"…_it's no exaggeration that Joy looks a lot like her mother…" Goddess sighed._

_"...no kidding; they're virtually identical." Sonia noted with wide eyes. "...she mentioned that she couldn't go back to her village when I asked her about it... do you know why that is?"_

"…_I will tell you in a moment," Goddess murmured, watching the children._

"_You sure that the elders'll let you be Captain of the Guard like your daddy?" asked a little red vixen._

"_I sure hope so!" little Jill replied. "My daddy's so strong, and brave, and smart! I wanna be just like him! I'm even practicin' my bow shootin! See?" She took out a little toy bow and arrow and yanked back on the bowstring, shooting it. The arrow stuck into the tree nearby, and the children cooed in amazement._

"…_there were social standards between the men and women of the village," Goddess spoke. "The elders upheld the beliefs that the men should be the warriors that hunt and bring the food home… and that the women were to stay home and take care of the family…because Jillian had no mother, she was raised by her father to be a hunter…to be a tomboy."_

_Goddess sighed. "…I won't deny that her father wanted a son… but he did the best he could to raise Jillian, despite the social discrimination she had to live with."_

_"...hrm... not exactly how I'm used to things being run." Sonia commented._

"…_not anyone would be used to such standards," Goddess spoke, watching the children finally scurry away cheerfully. Then she followed them. "…Jillian still didn't handle them very well…"_

_"...hrm..." Sonia hummed; she had a slight feeling as to what that meant._

_Finally, they reached the tall gates of the village that were made from large logs, and inside were all of the homes that were carved inside of the trees; a design that wasn't seen very often anywhere else in the world. These buildings went more than two floors, and up above were bridges that went from one tree house to another. Strong men walked and paroled the ground floor while most women and children remained above in the tree tops._

_Most of the men suddenly stopped in their tracks, and looked down the path in the opposite direction that Goddess and Sonia were._

_Two individuals walked through, getting uncomfortable stares, but ignoring them nonetheless. One of them was a strong, male brown ram, and he was walking beside someone._

_Sonia could see it was Jill once again, but she was older than the last time she saw her. Now she looked like a young teenager, maybe fifteen and she had a quiver of arrows over her shoulder with a long green coat, a cream colored tunic, tights, and cream colored boots. _

"…_needless to say, she was always considered an outcast…" Goddess sighed. "…just like her mother before her…"_

_"...an outcast..." Sonia uttered, narrowing her eyes a little._

"…_and things only got worse…"_

"_Elders you have to believe me!" Teenage Jill was now before a council of three old mobians sitting in a semi-circle of chairs around her. "There's someone that poses danger to the village! If we don't act now to try and capture him, some terrible things will happen!"_

"_Child, you must be imagining things," one of the elders spoke, who was a bearded owl. "I'm sure your father wouldn't allow anyone to pass by his defenses…"_

_Jill grew more distraught. "You don't understand! This terrible man has strange powers of the night! He slipped right in to this village undetected and I've seen what harm he's done to the forests! He's taking the life out of everything!"_

_The elders erupted into a roar of laughter in front of her then._

"…_they didn't believe her one bit," Goddess spoke bitterly. "All they said was for her to grow up and stop using her ridiculous, childish imagination…that there was no such thing as a man that could suck the life out of things…"_

_Sonia's eyes narrowed. "...that assumption of theirs came back to bite them in the ass, didn't it?"_

"…_because of that…there was a fire in the village…"_

_The village suddenly burst into a hailstorm of flames, and people panicked, running away from the flames. Numerous warriors rushed in there to save people and put out the flames. Sonia could see that same strong ram run into the flames to save the elders._

_Sonia's eyes widened. "...holy..."_

_A good deal of all the villagers was able to escape from it, and the warriors were able to fight the fires back little by little. Still, the fire damaged the village drastically._

_Goddess and Sonia then could see Jill arriving by the villagers that had been evacuated from the firestorm, and they all gave her harsh looks. The elders pushed their way through to Jill, also giving them stern, harsh looks._

"…_and what happened next would change Jillian's life forever…" Goddess murmured._

_"...don't tell me..." Sonia uttered; realization dawning on her._

"_I was trying to hunt down the one who started the fire!" insisted Jill._

"_Child, what you should have done was put out the fire before it got so out of control!" snapped one of the elders, making Jill jump._

"_Elders, please, it wasn't her fault!" The strong ram cut in, stepping in front of his daughter._

"_No, it was yours for not properly raising your daughter in her place, Ray," retorted another elder, an armadillo, startling the ram. "We expected better from the Captain of the Guard. Your daughter went chasing ghastly apparitions of the night while she left behind the village to burn! Why couldn't you keep her under control when she was a child?"_

"_How do you expect me to teach her the things that only a mother could teach her?" Ray retorted. "I'm only able to teach her the things I know, and that's how to hunt, and survive in the wild! No other woman wanted to take her in!"_

"_That's because she's the daughter of an outcast, which made her an outcast as well," threw the last elder, a wolf. "What if she's the one that started the fire anyhow?"_

_Sonia could see this argument was starting to hurt Jill's feelings. "It wasn't me!" screamed Jill hysterically. "It was him! That man with the dark powers!"_

"_Oh child, that's enough!" growled the bearded owl. "There's no way that you could prove this man you speak of, did this! We never saw this man anywhere in the village, and no one else has either. The only thing that we're sure of was that you turned your back on your people when they needed your help, and for insolence like that, you will have to be punished…"_

_Sonia was silent, looking at the elders in disbelief._

_Jill gasped._

"_No! You can't do that!" Ray screamed at them angrily. "Hasn't she been through enough already? Why can't you just open up your ears and listen to me?"_

"_Ray, do we have to make things worse?" the wolf spoke._

"_You can't banish her from the village!" screamed Ray again, trying to run at the elders but two strong warriors appeared and held him back. "She still needs me! Let me go! Jillian still _needs_ me! She'll never be able to survive out there on her own!"_

"_Last I recall, you taught her how she could survive in the wild," the bearded owl spoke. "I think she knows all that she needs to know to make it on her own…"_

"_Fine! If you're banishing her, then you'll have to banish me too!" yelled Ray._

"_And leave ourselves without a Captain of the Guard?" the armadillo questioned. "You have your responsibilities Ray; responsibilities that you can't abandon. Don't allow your feelings to make rash decisions for you."_

"…_but…but I…" Jill looked heartbroken. "…I'm so sorry…"_

"_Leave now," said the armadillo sternly. _

_Jill's head fell, and a few tears dropped to the ground._

"…_this is the one thing that Jillian has grown ashamed of and never gotten over…" remarked Goddess with a sad sigh. _

_"...tsch..." Hissing, Sonia clenched her hands together. "...bunch of old coots. I don't care if the village has a different way of life; the least they could've done was to give her a chance."_

"…_I'm sorry…that I...disappointed you, father…" and Jill bolted in a run past the elders, toward the exit of the village._

"_NO! JILLIAN!" wailed Ray, with tears running down his cheeks._

"…_its better this way…" the bearded owl muttered. "…she can be free to be whoever she wants out there, and that's where she really belongs…in the outside world." The warriors released Ray, and he fell to the ground, slamming his fist on the ground._

"_How could you?" he screamed, sobbing. "She was my only daughter! She was the only thing left that I had from my wife!" and he continued to sob on the ground. _

"…_it's because of this that she has such a hard time with being strong…this is what broke her spirit…as well as her heart…" Goddess said. "…one of the reasons that she couldn't help was because she had pyrophobia at the time, so even if she wasn't chasing down the one who did this, she wouldn't have been able to help."_

_"...poor girl..." Sonia murmured, before she sighed. "...I wish I could've been there back then to help. She doesn't deserve being thrown out of her own home like that..."_

"…_she didn't deserve the dark things that happened to her afterward either…" Goddess murmured, starting to walk away from the scene._

_Blinking, Sonia followed Goddess._

"…_but a year or so later, she finally collapsed somewhere in the middle of a jungle out of exhaustion…" Goddess spoke._

_The scene changed suddenly from the forest to a jungle… one familiar looking jungle to Sonia._

_Sonia blinked. "...hey... this is the Mystic Ruins, isn't it?" she inquired._

"_It is…" Goddess answered, walking through the jungle. "Jillian collapsed here, because the journey she went through during the year was so difficult…and then she was taken up to a residence to recover…"_

_Coming out from the jungle, Sonia could see that quaint house on the top of the hill near the train station._ _"...that house..." Sonia uttered. "...don't tell me... is that the house of...?" Quickly, she ran towards the house. Goddess quickly followed her, to a point where they stopped right in front of the house. Kindly, Goddess took Sonia by the shoulder, and walked closer to the house; so close that when they were about to walk right into a wall, they passed through it instead._

_They came to a small bedroom with two figures in it. One of them was Jill, looking tired, weak and red in the face because of a fever. _

…_the other one, the one sitting next to her…_

"…_you…didn't have to do this…" Jill uttered, looking at the one next to her. "…you didn't have to help me…"_

_"...don't say that." the one next to her replied; an elderly, two-tailed fox. "One should always help someone who is in need of help."_

_Sonia gaped. "...holy crap... that's Miles Prower." she uttered. "That's seriously Miles 'Tails' Prower."_

"…_that may be true…" Jill muttered. "…but…but I'm not worth helping…I've done nothing but cause trouble for others who tried to help me…"_

_"...everyone's worth helping." Tails mused. "No matter what may have happened in their lives." Then, he hummed. "...try and rest. I could prepare some tea in the meantime."_

_Jill sank a bit in the bed, but she continued to look at Tails. "…I…I haven't even heard your name before until now…someone who seems to be well known like you…and you're helping someone that hasn't even heard of you…?"_

_Tails nodded. "Just because I'm well-known doesn't mean that I can't help others." he hummed._

_Jill grew a bit curious. "…why…are you so well-known…?"_

_Tails hummed. "...mostly because I was Sonic the Hedgehog's closest friend and ally." he mused, smiling._

_Jill looked more tired, and her eyelids grew heavy, but she tried to keep them open. "…Sonic the Hedgehog…" she murmured. "…who is he?"_

_Tails hummed. "...he was a legendary hero." he mused, looking up at the ceiling. "...I'll tell you more when you wake up; if you'd want to listen to an old fox's stories..."_

"…_that would be…really nice…thank you…" Jill's eyes finally closed, and it wasn't long before she was out cold. __Tails smiled, before he stood up and began heading for the door; off to make some tea._

_"...wow... she actually knows _the_ Miles Prower..." Sonia uttered._

"…_he helped her through her emotional pain with his stories about Sonic the Hedgehog," Goddess said, taking Sonia back through the wall to outside. "It gave her some inspiration to try and be strong again…and she stayed for a long time with that fox and his assistant at the time."_

_When they got down to the bottom of the hill, Goddess stopped. "…in fact…his assistant at the time later on became Joy's father…so Jillian is more connected to Miles Prower than most would even dream of…"_

_"...wow..." Sonia hummed, before she glanced at Goddess. "...I just gotta know; how do you _know_ all of this?"_

_Goddess gave Sonia a sad look._

"…_because… I am Jillian's mother."_

_Sonia gaped. "...what?"_

"...ngh..." The dawning feeling of a heavy migraine was what woke Sonia up. Letting out a groan, she held her head. "...never drinking again... there; I said it." she sighed, before she lied her head on the pillow. At least it seemed like Ani or Hunter had gotten her a guest bed...

...with... a bedmate...

"...oh, not again." Sonia groaned; she just seemed to have an uncanny ability to wake up with someone right next to her after a night of drinking. Even if just on impulse, she couldn't help herself when completely drunk. With a sigh, she turned her head to see who this night's drunken conquest was.

"Glad you're finally awake…although I have to admit you look better when you were asleep."

Sonia's eyes widened considerably. "...who...?"

The one next to her turned over and Sonia discovered the horror. "Aw, do you have a headache?"

Instantly, Sonia clutched to the covers, and practically leapt out of the bed; covering herself as she looked at the bedmate. "...you... when? And how?"

"Easily; last night, and I had someone bring you to me in your drunk stupor," said Raider, sitting up from the bed.

"...you _bastard._" Sonia hissed. "Just who did you get to drag me out of there?" she yelled, when she quickly held her head. "Gah... everything's a blur..."

"That Lazlo guy," Raider answered, folding his arms. "He sure was cooperative enough. It's amazing what a soldier will do for some money…" then he smirked and got off of the bed, approaching Sonia.

Sonia grit her teeth, and backed away from him. "...so you weren't man enough to just pick me up by yourself?" she retorted. "That's a new low, even for you, Raider."

"Oh, you wanna know how low I really got?" Raider chuckled. "If you want, I can show you some pictures of what happened from last night's experience…"

Sonia's eyes widened, and she stopped. "...pictures?" she spat.

"Or…" Raider took Sonia by the arm and put her against the wall, pinning her there. "…we can forget this ever happened if you agree not to try and step up against me again…or else there might be some other rumors that'll start to go around…"

Sonia looked back at Raider with widened and somewhat scared eyes. "...you... _monster_..." she hissed.

Raider let go, and his smirk widened. "Now get dressed and get outta here. I'm sure your dear little Jill is wondering where you are…" Sonia grit her teeth, before she walked right past Raider; quickly collecting her clothes from where they had been scattered all over the floor, and getting dressed just as quickly.

"…unless there's anything you'd like to tell me about Jill," Raider chuckled.

Sonia stopped. "...no; nothing comes to mind." she uttered, though she didn't glance back at Raider.

"…then what about the things you muttered in your sleep?" Raider continued. "…oh, something about Jill actually knowing Miles 'Tails' Prower?"

Sonia let out a small gasp. "...I-I don't know what you're talking about..." And truthfully, that dream _was_ still a bit hazy; but when Raider pointed it out, she recalled some of it...

"…you're right; you were so hammered that you probably even don't remember most of your dream…" Raider said with a shrug.

"...guh." Sonia shuddered, before she finished taking on her clothes.

"…besides, you know I can still find my information on my own," Raider chuckled. "…and you understand what happens if you stand in my way of that, right Sonia?"

"...I do." Sonia murmured, though she didn't spare the ox a single glance.

"…I'm done with you now, so go," Raider said.

Sonia remained silent, but she hurriedly walked off, leaving the room.

* * *

><p>Back at Sonia's cabin, Miser was sitting outside with baby Joy in her arms. Jill was standing there with a bow in her hands, pulling back on the bow string. After aiming carefully, she released the string and the arrow flew toward a target that was painted on a tree. It hit the bull's-eye right in the middle.<p>

"...good shot," Miser said with a smile. "You haven't lost your aim."

Jill smiled back at Miser, and then at Joy who was nibbling on her hand, watching her mother intently at whatever she was doing. Then when Jill was going to prepare another shot, she halted, and turned toward a direction in the forest, where she could see someone coming.

"...hm?" Miser hummed, looking there as well.

The one emerging from the forest was Sonia, who just glanced to the side as she walked; not having spotted either Jill or Miser.

"No!" Called out Joy excitedly, kicking her feet and pointing at Sonia. "No no no!"

Sonia blinked, turning her head to look at them, before smiling. "Hey, you're up, already?" she said.

"They are." Miser nodded. "Did you have an enjoyable evening yesterday?"

It took Sonia a moment before she replied. "...eh, could have been better." she said, before she walked past them. "I gotta go hit the showers, if you'll excuse me..." she added, before she entered the building. Jill watched Sonia curiously. She would expect that getting drunk would give her a hard morning…and she wasn't sure, but Sonia just wasn't as enthusiastic as she usually was…

…although Joy started whining, which brought Jill to set the bow down and take the fussy Joy from Miser.

"...what made her start crying now?" Miser hummed, looking curiously at Joy.

Jill shrugged, and rocked Joy back and forth a little bit. That seemed to calm her down a bit.

With a mild hum, Miser glanced back at the building. "...why would Sonia want to take a shower right now?" she mused out of the blue.

Jill shrugged again. Then she headed inside the cabin with Joy in her arms.

* * *

><p>Diablo and Kiri both walked through the woods one day, finally finding the place they were looking for. There was one area in the middle of the forest where it was opened and fenced off to those in the forest. Numerous soldiers were gathered there, mainly because it was the barracks for the newcomers, and this was the main area where all of their training took place.<p>

"…this is where they try and make the nasty people control themselves, Kiri," Diablo spoke, picking her up and sitting her on the fence.

Kiri hummed. "...nasties are nasties; nothing can change that." she uttered.

"Right…but most people are too dumb to see that," Diablo said, nodding.

"...dumb people are nasties, too?" Kiri inquired, tilting her head.

"Some are…" Diablo said, looking to watch the training.

Those like Cowpoke and his son Mud-Pie were doing push-ups; Mud-Pie slightly struggling with them.

"...come on, now; put your back into it!" a new voice suddenly chuckled.

Kiri blinked, as she looked towards where the voice came from.

Mud-Pie jumped with a scream and hid behind his dad when Cowpoke got up on his feet. "Oh, it's you," Cowpoke said, looking up. The one they looked at was Spiel, who was merrily chewing on some meat while watching this.

"Top of the morning to you. Your kid doing fine?" he asked in a casual manner.

"He's doing fine as far as the training goes," Cowpoke replied, folding his arms.

"...who is that?" Kiri asked, pointing right at Spiel.

"That's Spiel…" Diablo grumbled. "…and no matter what anyone says Kiri, he's one of the nastiest people on this island…"

"...he's one of the nastiest..." Kiri uttered. "...can we get rid of him?"

"…I'm not even sure if we can," Diablo whispered. "…that's how nasty he is…"

"...well, he seems to be having a bit of trouble around familiar faces." Spiel chuckled jokingly.

"Well, just about everybody I know here wants to make a pancake outta me!" whimpered Mud-Pie. Then his dad pat him on the back.

"Don't worry too much about that son; this is Safe Haven, a place that'll teach you how to defend yourself," Cowpoke said.

"…pfft…that's a lie…" Diablo murmured under his breath.

"...a nasty lie." Kiri uttered.

Spiel just chuckled. "Are you still neurotic about that little game of tag we had earlier?" he mused.

Mud-Pie shot a point at Spiel. "That is NOT how you play tag!"

"Hey, calm down there Mud-pie," Cowpoke said. "Maybe you should go find Smokey or Rott to train with, huh?" Mud-Pie hesitantly nodded, and after a few steps, the boy broke into a full blown run to find his father's friends.

"…you know…" Cowpoke turned to Spiel then. "…I didn't particularly appreciate how freaked out you made my boy…"

"I get that a lot." Spiel chuckled, taking a large bite out of his meal. "I just couldn't help myself; chasing him about was pretty fun to me. Of course, one man's game is another man's nightmare."

"Well, I don't want him to be in enough of a wreck for his mother to tear me limb from limb because of it," Cowpoke said.

"...oh, he has a mother?" Spiel chuckled, rubbing his chin. "How very interesting... so this is a father-son bonding thing, I take it?"

"…yeah, sort of," Cowpoke muttered, scratching his head underneath his hat. "I wanted to make my boy a tough man like me and ever since me and his mom divorced, things have been kinda tough for him."

"...aah... I see." Spiel hummed, folding his arms. "You sure this is gonna work out for 'im? Could end up causing more harm than good."

"Hell, that guy's daughter, Ani, didn't turn out too bad here… I figure maybe it'll be rough but he'll turn out okay," Cowpoke said. "I know I got my buddies to look out for him in case other soldiers pick on him when I'm not around…" then he looked away.

"…but I guess I'm more worried about that woman with her baby here…" he muttered.

Spiel hummed. "...you worried about her?" he noted, before chuckling. "Don't worry; she's a good friend of King's, so there shouldn't be anyone _stupid_ enough on the island to try and mess with her."

"You didn't hear about what that Hex woman tried to do?" Cowpoke remarked. "Hell, I'm shocked that she hadn't tried coming near my boy yet. She tries, and it won't matter if she's a girl; I'll knock her teeth out."

Spiel chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, something tells me that she's not gonna do anything like that in quite a while, so don't worry 'bout your kid."

Cowpoke gave Spiel a wary look… and then he tipped his hat down so he didn't have to look at Spiel anymore. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my son to help him with his training..." he said. Then he turned away and left.

Spiel chuckled, before he shot a glance towards Diablo and Kiri.

Kiri stirred a little, as she looked right back at Spiel. Diablo just frowned back at Spiel.

Spiel just shot them a grin. "...you trying to be a daddy too, Diablo?" he chuckled.

"…no…just a Big Brother, Spiel," Diablo grumbled.

"...you're a nasty." Kiri huffed, still just looking at Spiel. "I don't like nasties."

Spiel was silent, before he chuckled. "Now that's just cold; I don't know if she insulted my appearance or my personality, so I don't know how to react."

"Don't react then; just walk away," Diablo murmured.

"Why would I walk away?" Spiel chuckled. "Because you find my company unsettling?"

"Not unsettling…just unpleasant." Diablo then took up Kiri and set her back down on the ground, taking her hand. "C'mon Kiri. Let's go…"

Kiri looked back at Spiel as they walked off.

"...just be careful; wouldn't want you getting hurt because of something stupid." Spiel called to them with a light chuckle.

"…we can take care of ourselves…" growled Diablo under his breath so that Spiel wouldn't have to hear them.

"...for being a nasty, he doesn't act like a nasty." Kiri murmured once they were out of Spiel's range. "...I don't like that."

"…those are the worst kind of nasties Kiri," Diablo muttered. "…they're the kind of nasties that make people think they aren't nasty… and then they can stab you in the back when your guard is down…"

"...that's the worst kind... like my mommy and daddy were..." Kiri murmured.

"…is that right?" Diablo said.

"...they were supposed to love me... but they didn't. They were nasty nasties..." Kiri murmured. "...that's why I got rid of them... why I want to get rid of all nasties..."

"…well don't worry Kiri… I won't be nasty to you, and I'll help you get rid of nasty people," Diablo said.

"...thanks, Big Brother..." Kiri said, looking up at Diablo with a smile.

That was one of the first times that Diablo actually saw someone smiling at him. Needless to say, he didn't really know how to handle it. "…yeah, yeah…" he moaned, looking back ahead at where they were going.

Nodding, Kiri looked towards where Diablo turned his head as well.

* * *

><p><em>The Next Day…<em>

* * *

><p>"AWWW! She said Mama!" Ani cooed, tickling Joy's toes and making her giggle. "She's so cute! Yes she is!" And baby-talking to her more just made Joy giggle and squeal happily.<p>

Jill could giggle if she could, and she watched Ani with a smile. Today she was at the pub visiting Ani. After all, she could use a little company… that, and she sort of didn't want a repeat with what happened yesterday when Sonia was helping Queen with the training.

"...hm. That _is_ charming." Speaking of Queen, she happened to be in the pub as well; enjoying a cup of coffee as she glanced at the smaller Joy with a smile.

"No no no no Mama no!" Joy gurgled excitedly.

"So she knows just those two words?" Hunter asked, and Jill nodded.

"...being so young, two words should more than suffice." Queen noted.

"I guess that's true," Hunter chuckled, tickling Joy's tummy with a finger to make her giggle a little bit. With a light chuckle, Queen returned to drinking her coffee.

The door opened then, and when Ani looked, her happy smile fell to a harsh glare. Joy stopped giggling and looked over curiously. Then she started to whine.

"…well, well… what do we have here?" It was Raider.

Queen placed the cup away, as she shot Raider a silent glare.

Judging by all the looks that this guy was getting, Jill assumed that this was yet another soldier that didn't mean any good news. So she got up and went to Joy. "…well, so you must be Jill," Raider said, coming over and sitting at the counter next to Jill. Jill jumped a little bit and looked at Raider.

"…Raider…" Ani growled. "…what did we tell you last night…?"

"Relax…I'm not doing anything wrong," Raider responded.

"...you're a little too close to her." Queen noted, still giving Raider that glare. "That's more than enough."

"I'll keep my distance," groaned Raider.

Jill was already not starting to like him, and she picked up Joy from her little seat on the counter that Hunter was able to find somewhere for her.

"Oh, so that's Joy, huh?" Raider said, leaning closer to her. Jill immediately turned away so that Joy didn't have to see Raider, and Jill sent a glare his way. "Whoa there, no need for the hostile look," he said, backing away a bit from Jill's glare.

"...if you didn't come to buy something, maybe you should leave, Raider." Queen suggested coldly, glancing irritably to the side.

"…in that case, Ani, do you think I could have a soda then?" Raider chuckled.

Ani simply reached into the fridge under the counter, and secretly shook it up when Raider wasn't paying attention. Then she set it on the counter for him. Raider took it, chuckling some more. "…she's an adorable little girl," Raider mused. "…just like her mother."

Jill wasn't amused by that. She just kept glaring at him.

"…geez…your eyes aren't going to turn red and beat me up, are you?" Raider chuckled.

Jill's eyes widened and she backed away from Raider, holding Joy close to herself. "…does that really freak you out that much?" Raider chuckled. "…must have been bad then…"

"...Raider, don't push your luck." Queen growled.

Raider opened the can of soda, and jumped because the soda spat at him and spilled all over him. Ani secretly chuckled to herself, and so did Hunter. Queen hid a small smirk as well. Even Jill tried not to laugh at it, even if she wasn't capable of it.

"…so you all think that's funny, huh?" Raider growled. "…I'm not sure the Professor would approve such behavior from all of you…"

Jill's smile fell and she gasped again.

Raider smirked. "…so you DO know him…"

Queen shot a look at Raider. "...when did you..."

"…a small tip from somebody…" Raider chuckled.

Then he looked back at Jill… and flinched. That harsh glare directed at Raider was a very dark looking one… one with piercing red eyes. "O-okay! Okay! I'm leaving!" he uttered, stumbling out the door.

After that, Jill's eyes turned back to green, and she blinked in puzzlement, wondering where Raider went.

Queen blinked, as she looked towards Jill. _...what just..._

Jill heard Joy fuss some more then, and she rocked her back and forth a little bit to calm her down.

"…wow…I never saw Raider take off that quick before," Hunter murmured.

"...quite curious..." Queen mused. "...but at least he left before he could say anything too out of line."

When Joy was calm, Jill looked down at the ground with a solemn look. The fact that somebody found out something about her like that was disturbing to say the least. Was there just no way to keep secrets on this island?

Ani noticed the look Jill had, and something that most of the Safe Haven admins have been considering crossed her mind. "…Jill…there's something most of us have been wondering…" Ani muttered, stealing the ewe's attention curiously. "…have you…considered being part of the actual training here on the island?"

Jill blinked a little bit at that suggestion, and looked away thoughtfully.

Queen shot Ani a look. "That again?"

"…we know that you've got a lot on your shoulders with Joy," Ani continued, closing her eyes. "…and you've been through a lot… but… I think that maybe it might help you a little bit; it'll teach you how to defend yourself against the creeps on this island and make a name that people won't make fun of." There was no way that Ani was going to mention that Raider was the one who suggested it. "…not only that, but you'll always be in a place where someone like King or Sage can see where you are and make sure you're okay…you know that we're looking out for you…"

Jill took those words into consideration, and looked back at Ani.

"…well…my daughter's right about a few things," Hunter added. "…but I also understand what it's like to be apart from your only child…" Jill looked at Hunter when he said that. "…Joy is barely old enough to say two words… but on an island like this, Joy won't be able to do well without her mother there to protect her and teach her the things she needs to learn…if you join the training program, then you might sacrifice some of your duty as a mother…"

Queen remained silent, though she directed her gaze towards Jill.

Jill still thought about all of this. She remembered what happened when those soldiers tried to take her and Joy away to this Hex woman… and there was a little part of Jill that was ashamed for not being able to protect Joy with her own strength; that it took someone like Spiel to save her. Whether or not King and his group try harder to keep that from happening, it was still going to happen. Sooner or later, something grave might happen to either her or Joy… or worse… she might lose control of herself like before…

Joy whimpering again brought Jill out of her thoughts and she rocked her some more to soothe her. There was another factor in all of this too; Joy was still just a baby. She needed her mother the most at a time like this, and it would be wrong to be away from her child like this.

"…it's…just something to think about Jill, that's all," Ani muttered with droopy ears. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

Queen didn't say anything, as she looked away from Jill; a thoughtful look on her.

…_I'll think about it,_ Jill wrote, handing the ripped paper to Ani.

Ani nodded. "Okay…"

"...hrm." Queen huffed, before she returned her attention to her coffee cup.

"Jill, are you thinking of heading back?" Hunter asked.

Jill nodded.

"Right…Queen, how about you go with her?" Hunter suggested.

Queen nodded, before she finished her coffee, standing up. "...shall we?"

Yeah… once again, Jill needed an escort… that bothered her a bit, but she didn't show it to any of them. Jill nodded to Queen, and with that, the three of them headed out the door.

* * *

><p>Storm clouds started looming in the sky above, and not long after that, droplets of rain hit the ground on the island. Eventually, it blew up into a rainstorm that poured over the island. Most of those that were outside were now inside in the dry comfort of the buildings in town.<p>

Those in training however, got no break. The soldiers were pushed through their training in the rainstorm regardless of how much mud there was and how much they slipped. King insisted that it was a great opportunity to test the factor of the environment.

Other than that, most inhabitants on the island stayed inside…

…but not Jill.

She stood outside of the cabin door, standing in the rain and looking up at the sky. She didn't care if she was getting soaked… to be honest, this felt good to her. Since Joy was inside taking a nap, Jill had the opportunity to just relax and think.

At that point, the door opened, and Sonia, who was wearing a raincoat, walked out to Jill. "...you'll catch a cold, if you keep that up." she noted, rubbing her neck

Jill only looked at Sonia, and shrugged.

Sonia hummed a little, looking up at the sky. "...sure hope it lets up soon..." Then, she sighed. "...this is kinda dreary..."

Jill tilted her head at Sonia, wondering why she thought it was so dreary. Jill actually found the rainstorm quite refreshing and relaxing.

Leaning against the wall, Sonia sighed. "...you ever get the feeling that you've done something _really_ stupid, and there's not a whole lot you can do to remedy it?"

Jill blinked, and she looked to the ground. Sure, she knew exactly what that felt like…

"...man... I shouldn't have gone out to drink the other day..." Sonia murmured, letting out a sigh.

Jill looked back at Sonia, and eventually set a hand on her shoulder, wondering if there was something wrong.

Sonia closed her eyes. "...I... got into some trouble, back then..."

Jill kept looking at Sonia, waiting for her to continue.

"...I managed to get myself in bed with the last person I wanted... goddamn alcohol making that happen..." Sonia murmured, gritting her teeth. "...and now... I can't even do anything to keep that _bastard_ from snooping around and flapping his gums..."

Jill grew solemn, and put her other hand on her other soldier now, looking directly at her. She wanted to know just who did this…

"...I'm sorry, Jill... but because of me, I can't do anything to help you against Raider..."

Jill's eyes widened in shock for a moment, and then a harsh glare came over her, and she grit her teeth. That ox… she only met him earlier this morning but she didn't like him… and considering he somehow got some information on her that she knew the Professor…

…Jill released Sonia and spun around. Then she bolted out into the woods.

She was going to do something about this.

Sonia blinked, as she watched Jill run off. "...J-Jill! Where are you going?"

Jill didn't stop to answer her in any way, shape, or form. In fact, she hit a tree with a foot, and started kicking her way up into the trees to travel without being noticed. That was the last Sonia saw of her.

* * *

><p>Raider was only sitting back in his computer chair, taking a nap. He had been looking over useless data… data he already knew… but he wanted more new data. The newest he's even gotten was that blackmail on Sonia, but even that got old pretty soon…<p>

…so out of boredom he fell asleep.

Red lights suddenly flashed and alarms sounded, which jolted the ox awake, "Wah?" And he logged right onto his computer, typing quickly to access his security cameras.

The GUN units that he repaired and programed to protect his living quarters where being effortlessly ripped apart one by one, and the figure was moving too fast for Raider to see. "What the hell?" he uttered out of shock… and slight fear.

What kind of thing could tear up GUN robots like that?

Not only that, but the figure was heading his way at lightning speed! The safety cameras were barely able to pick that up, and then somehow, they went blurry. Raider would've been ready to panic right then and there.

Then his door slammed open and Raider was knocked onto the ground. "AGH!"

When he looked up and shuddered. Red eyes stared down at him, along with a devious smirk. It was Jill. "Y-y-y-you?" Raider uttered out of fear. Jill's smirk grew at the sight of his fear. "Are-are-are you going to h-hurt me?" Raider asked fearfully.

Jill rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then she stood up and got off of Raider. He scrambled away to get up onto his feet, and watched as Jill knocked over one of his filing cabinets. "Hey! That's full of valuable data!" he complained.

Jill still smirked, when all the files fell out of it and she saw the exact one she was looking for. When she grabbed it, Raider grew angry. "Hey! That's MY blackmail!" he roared, throwing a punch at her…

…a punch that she easily caught without even having to look at Raider.

"…eh?" he uttered wide-eyed, while Jill went through the file to make sure that all the data was here.

Then she ran off.

"NOOOO!" Raider screamed, running out the door right after her.

* * *

><p>Back in the house, Sonia was impatiently sitting on the couch, twiddling her thumbs. "...where did she go...?" she murmured; obviously worried about Jill.<p>

Just then, Sonia heard the door open and close. Someone walked into the room, holding up a file for Sonia to see. Sonia's eyes widened, as she stood up. "...that's... how did you get that?" she uttered.

Jill's compassionate green eyes looked back at her and smiled. Then she walked over to the fireplace in the cabin and she tossed the file into the fireplace. Photos shuffled out from it, but whatever was on them was blacked out by burns and most of the file began to wither away into ashes.

Sonia blinked, before her look turned from one of surprise to a relieved look. "...Jill... you actually got them away from Raider..." Then, she looked back at her. "...but... but how?"

Jill only kept smiling at her, unable to really give her any other response. "...but..." Then, Sonia rushed over to hug her. "...thanks a ton, Jill! I'm in your debt right now, you hear?" Jill patted her back and nodded.

…_thanks Callous… I owe you one…_ she thought.

…_yeah yeah…_

That was when the door was slammed open, and Jill and Sonia were shoved aside. "…NO!" Raider ran to the fire and fell on his knees. "…you… you burned it you bitch!" then he glared at Jill and Sonia.

Though when he did, Sonia gave him a sharp glare back. "...didn't anyone ever tell you to knock before you come barging in like a maniac?" she spat.

"Tell that to her!" Raider yelled, pointing at Jill. "She's a monster! She ripped my GUN robots to shreds! No one's able to do that!"

Sonia narrowed her eyes. "...that doesn't matter." she scoffed. "What matters is that you get out of my house right now, you sick creep."

Raider stood up, growling. "…no one destroys my defenses so easily and gets away with it…" and he took one stomp, before a sound stopped him.

"No no no!"

He looked over to the couch where baby Joy was sitting. She was pointing fingers at him and telling him off. "No no!"

Shooting a look at Joy, Sonia got between her and Raider. "...I told you to get out, Raider. _Now._"

He glared at Sonia. "…why don't you make me?"

"...alright." With that, Sonia rushed right at Raider, and aimed a spinning kick right at his neck.

Raider slammed right into the wall of the house, knocking off picture frames and shaking the house. This startled Joy considerably and she started to cry out. For her safety, Jill grabbed Joy and moved out of the way, while Raider got back up and threw a punch at Sonia. However, Sonia weaved past that punch, before aiming another kick at the large ox. Raider actually flew this time, and he crashed through one of Sonia's windows into the outside rain.

Without stopping, Sonia rushed right out of the same window, and threw another kick at the ox. Raider caught the kick this time and threw Sonia down onto the ground into the mud. Even in the mud, Sonia spun around, grabbed Raider's neck with her legs, and attempted to slam him into the mud as well. Raider pushed himself out of it coughing because he couldn't breathe, and he hurried to pin Sonia down and punch her. Sonia only took a few punches, before she attempted to push Raider off with a powerful kick to his gut. Raider winced when he was knocked off of her, holding his gut. Without letting him recover, Sonia leapt towards him, and gave him a kick right upside the head, to knock him down.

After being knocked down again, Raider growled angrily. He lashed out and grabbed Sonia by the throat. Sonia let out a startled gasp the moment he gripped her neck, and in desperation, tried kicking Raider between his legs. Raider let out a pained yelp and let her go, stumbling a bit. Sonia clasped her own throat to catch her breath, before she shook her head; going into a more fitting battle stance.

When he eased up on the pain between his legs, Raider charged at Sonia with an angry roar. This time, however, Sonia sidestepped the incoming ox, before delivering a kick to his legs that would send him tumbling to the ground. Raider once again landed face first into the mud, and for a while, the only thing he could do was let the rain pour down on him and drench him. Then he got back up with a huff and glared at Sonia. Sonia just looked back at him, resuming her stance.

"…you little bitch…" he snarled, reaching on his person to pull out something. He put his thumb on it and flicked out a small blade from it, holding it readily. Seeing the blade, Sonia shuddered a bit, but she kept her stance up; waiting for Raider to make a move.

Raider ran at her, swiping the blade. Gritting her teeth, Sonia stepped back, avoiding the blade. It became a chase where Raider tried to cut her and Sonia was on the defensive.

Eventually, Raider finally thought to try and trip her with his foot. "Whoa!" Not having expected that, Sonia fell right to the ground.

Now that she was on the ground, Sonia was all his. Raider raised the blade to strike her down…

…only for that wrist to be grabbed, and stopped.

"Huh?" Raider looked again, noticing that Jill stepped right in and grabbed his wrist to stop him, protecting Sonia.

"...Jill!" Sonia uttered, as she quickly got on her feet.

Raider only chuckled down at her. "…how cute…you're protecting her, just like she's protecting you…"

Jill gave him a harsh glare. She stepped in because flashes of that fateful night with Brick brought her to an unstable state. She was NOT going to let another person that she cared about be killed by a ruthless thug like that…

When Raider tried to push back at her, Jill may have slid in the mud a little, but she didn't let up holding Raider back.

"…damn, you're strong…" Raider murmured.

"...whoa," Sonia uttered, looking between both Raider and Jill.

"…You're one of the first newcomers to be able to stand up to me no matter what I could do to them," Raider said. Then he smirked. "…I like that in a woman…"

Jill reacted accordingly.

Her grip on Raider's wrist tightened, and when it did, Raider's smirk fell and his eyes widened. It was stopping his blood flow to his hand… no… he thought he heard a crack or two from some bones.

Then she twisted his arm mercilessly.

"AAAAAAAGH!" Raider cried out in intense pain, feeling more bones crack in his body, as well as pulled muscles and tissues… hell, it almost felt like Jill would rip his arm off! It made him drop the blade to the mud, that's for sure, but Jill didn't even stop there! She continued to twist his arm with pure hatred for him…

"...that's enough, Jill!"

With that, a powerful force suddenly separated Jill from Raider, before the same force formed a barrier around Raider; both preventing Jill from getting to the ox, and preventing Raider from escaping. Sonia blinked, as she glanced to the side, where they saw Sage approach them. "...uh oh..."

Jill flinched, becoming aware of her surroundings again, and she looked over. _Sage…_

"Oh god…" Raider whimpered, which brought Jill to look at him… and see the mangled up condition of his arm with a gasp.

"...be thankful that I'm merciful." Sage huffed, approaching Raider with a scowl. "Trying to take advantage of Sonia like that... but letting her wreck you would be too kind a fate for you." Then, she lifted Raider off the ground with her powers. "If you ever try to pull something as horrendous as this behind my back, I swear, Raider, I will _break_ you."

Raider only glared back at Sage, and then looked away from her. Then he looked at Jill. "…I swear…I will get every little piece of information on you to use against you…you'll pay for this…"

"Did you even listen to me?" Sage huffed, before she shook her head. "...Jill, Sonia, you should get inside before you catch a cold. I'll toss this creep in the infirmary... and make sure to "forget" to tell Ripper to use any anesthetics while fixing it up." With that, she walked off, pulling Raider after her.

Jill's hand trembled when she watched them go away.

Did… she really do that to his arm?

Sonia blinked, before she looked at Jill. "...are... you okay, Jill?" she asked. Jill looked back at Sonia nervously, unsure if she was or not. "...let's just go inside." Sonia murmured after a while, walking up to Jill with a small nod. "I guess we're both gonna need a shower after that."

Jill nodded to that, and turned to walk inside; back to where Joy was waiting for her.

Watching Jill walk ahead of her, Sonia just held her own head. _...the only ones who actually manage to do that kind of damage to Raider are King, Queen and Spiel,_ she thought in disbelief. _Where did she get that strength from, anyway?_ Rubbing her arm, she followed Jill back inside. _And that aggressiveness... what if it's directed at someone who isn't rotten to the core like Raider? What would happen, then...?_

Inside, she saw Jill sitting back down on the rocking chair with Joy in her arms, and she started rocking back and forth in it. This soothed Joy, and made her sleepy again, while this served to calm down Jill from what happened before as well; kissing Joy's head and holding her dearly.

Looking at them, Sonia couldn't help but smile._ ...nah... she wouldn't attack anyone else; not in a million years. She's just... too kind to do something like that._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Oh, you'd be surprised Sonia...<em>**


	4. Chapter 4

_Five Months Later…_

* * *

><p>It was Christmas time in Safe Haven…<p>

The snow was falling on the island, covering it in a soft, powdery blanket of snow. Even now the training program was tough on the soldiers, but it wasn't scheduled the same as it was in the summer. Training only amounted to the morning, and then the soldiers had the rest of the day to do what they felt. Most of them used their time to help the island and shovel away the snow from the streets of the town, while others shoveled around their barracks.

Christmas decorations were put up all over town; green trim, colorful lights, golden, sparkling stars and silver sparkling snowflakes. Warm feelings were through the air for most soldiers… most…

"…I hate Christmas…" groaned Diablo, staring up at the decorations with a glare.

"...it only brings memories about nasties..." Kiri murmured, staying close to Diablo.

"...right...me too," Diablo murmured, looking away. "...c'mon Kiri...let's get some hot chocolate..." and he took her hand to walk away. With a brief nod, Kiri followed Diablo.

In the pub, Ani was whistling a merry tune of "Jingle Bells" while she was wiping the tables down with a cloth. She loved Christmas time, especially with her Dad and his friends. It was pretty crazy…

"I see that the Christmas spirit is in high gear?" As the pub door opened, Queen, Miser and Ripper walked into it, each of them giving Ani a nod.

"Sure is!" Ani announced with a chuckle. "I sure can't wait for the huge Christmas party!"

"Now here's a question for you; have you been a good girl, this year?" Queen chuckled, as the three of them took a seat.

"Because if you haven't been one, you only get a lump of coal, kekeke!" Ripper snickered.

"Aw c'mon! I've been totally good!" Ani said. "You know how hard it is to stay good when you see all the soldiers get drunk, huh?"

"Relax, Ani; we have no reason to doubt you being good." Miser said with a smile.

Ani chuckled in response. The door opened again and three more people came in. When Ani saw who it was, she smiled. "Sonia! Jill! Hi!"

"Hiya, guys!" Sonia called with a wave.

The other three gave them a nod and a smile. Jill smiled back, and she looked at Joy in her arms.

"Dabu dabu dada baba ookoo!" Right now it was utter gibberish, but it worked for Joy. After all, she was more social now…

"Hello to you too Joy!" Ani giggled.

"She seems healthy; that's a good sign." Queen noted with a chuckle.

"Kekeke! I'll say!" Ripper nodded in agreement.

Jill smiled at them again.

"So Jiiiiiiiiiill!" Ani walked up behind Jill. "You wanna come to our Christmas party?"

"The Christmas party?" Sonia uttered, before she smacked her forehead. "Dang it, I've forgotten all about that!"

"You _have_ been pretty busy lately, Sonia..." Miser mused. "...maybe going could be a good way to just relax for both of you?"

Jill became intrigued about all of this, looking at all of them in question about this party.

"King plans it with a little too much enthusiasm if you ask me," Hunter walked right into the pub right then through the butler doors.

"Well, that's how King does things, kekeke." Ripper mused, glancing at Hunter as he came in.

"You don't think I know?" Hunter mused. "After all, us two had a rivalry going on since we were born…you get to learn a lot about your rival if you want to learn how to beat him." Then he chuckled.

"Dad, you're not thinking of challenging King to any kind of competition this year, are you?" Ani asked suspiciously.

"….noooooo…" and he looked away from Ani.

Jill would chuckle if she could. Instead, Joy did that for her, giggling and kicking her legs, though Queen, Miser and Ripper chuckled as well, while Sonia just smirked.

"…speaking of which, I actually have to help Sage out with some things!" Hunter cleared his throat and put on a thick coat and scarf. "Look over the pub for me, would you Ani?" and he was out the door.

"…right…" Ani chuckled.

With a snicker, Sonia shook her head with a shrug. "That's Hunter for ya, I suppose." she mused.

Now Joy kept kicking her feet and whining, which indicated to Jill that she wanted to be put down. She decided to set Joy down by Queen's chair, and the little girl started grabbing the chair to pull herself up onto her feet.

"Wow, Joy's getting to be a big girl," Ani remarked, watching her.

"I'll say." Queen mused with a slight smile.

Joy tried to let go and take a step then, but she lost her balance immediately and fell back onto her butt. Then she giggled again, finding it amusing.

"Well, she'll get there eventually," Ani said with a shrug.

"Definitely." Miser nodded.

With that, Jill decided to pull over a chair and sit at the table that Queen, Miser and Ripper were at, looking down at Joy as she chose Jill's chair to climb up this time. Sonia, on the other hand, took a seat by the counter, and looked back at Joy as well.

"So, you guys want some breakfast?" Ani asked.

"Sure." Queen nodded.

"I could go for something to eat, yes." Miser nodded as well.

"Something for all of us, then! Kekekekeke!" Ripper chuckled.

"Alrighty," Ani said with a chuckle, tying on an apron.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind making some breakfast for us too, would you Ani?"

Ani looked, and saw five hounds walking into the pub. "Oh, hi guys," she said. "Sure, I can make breakfast for you lot."

"Thanks; mighty appreciated," Cowpoke said with a tip of his hat.

"Indeed." Merde hummed with a nod.

"...you five hanging in there?" Miser inquired, glancing at the five hounds.

"Eh, I can't complain, really." Rott mused with a shrug.

"Go ahead and have a seat, boys. I'll get your food shortly!" Ani called.

"Don't mind if we do," Cowpoke replied, taking a table that was right near the one where Queen and the others were.

"Muh! Muh!" Joy was pointing at Mud-Pie and calling out at him.

"Wow, she's talking now?" Mud-Pie said in amazement.

"Yep, she is." Sonia said with a nod. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"Well, it's a first, I gotta admit..." Rott hummed, rubbing his chin.

Joy fell on her butt again and quickly crawled her way up to Smokey's chair. The large dog looked down at the baby as she climbed up to her feet again, and Joy looked back up curiously at Smokey. "Dababa ta babooo…" She muttered, reaching her hand up to Smokey.

Smokey grunted a little bit… and he pet her head. "Cute…" he muttered, though he didn't smile.

"Wow, she won Smokey over," Cowpoke joked.

"Curious." Merde mused, rubbing his chin.

"I'll say." Rott remarked.

After Smokey was done patting her head, Joy patted her own head wonderingly. That was when Ani came around with trays of dishes with food on them. "There you are everybody!" she said, setting some down on Queen's table and others down on the table with the hounds.

"Much obliged." Merde said with a nod.

"Alright; I'm starving! Kekekekeke!" Ripper cackled.

Ani came over behind the counter when everybody started eating. "Hey Sonia, did you want anything?"

"Um... just a soda, and some eggs and bacon." Sonia hummed with a quick nod.

"Okay, comin' up," Ani said, handing her a soda and getting to work on the eggs and bacon.

They all started chatting while eating and it went back and forth between different things. Throughout it all, Cowpoke was making an occasional glance at Jill, but she didn't notice him. She was too occupied watching Joy crawl around the pub, making sure she didn't get hurt. Though one who _did_ notice this was Sonia, who just happened to shoot him a glance when she was about to put her soda bottle against her lips. With a silent hum, she looked away; pretending not to have seen anything.

It wasn't long before the hounds finished their meal first, and they each set money on the table. "Thanks a bunch Ani," Cowpoke said with a nod. "We should take off and see if Sage or King need anything done."

"Right." Merde nodded.

"Thanks for the meal, and all that jazz." Rott said, before he stood up; along with the other hounds.

They all headed toward the door, and Joy noticed that. "Chooo!" she squealed.

"Bye bye!" Mud-Pie called back at Joy.

Cowpoke halted and looked back at everyone; mostly Jill. "…see you 'round," he said, and then all of them were gone.

"...what a pleasant crew." Miser hummed with a smile.

"I'll say, kekeke..." Ripper nodded.

"...hm." Queen nodded as well.

Only Sonia was silent, as she took a swig from the soda bottle.

"Mama, uppy!" Joy waved her arms up and jumped on her butt. "Uppy!" Jill was done eating anyway, so she got up from her chair and picked Joy up.

"There you go Sonia," Ani said, handing her a plate of what she wanted. Then she noticed how silent Sonia was. "…something wrong?" she whispered to Sonia so the others wouldn't hear over their chatter.

"...nothing's wrong." Sonia whispered back. "I just... noticed something interesting."

"Oh yeah?" Ani muttered. "What is it?"

"...well... did you notice how Cowpoke looked at Jill?" Sonia hummed.

"…wait…he was looking at her?" Ani became bewildered. "What do you mean he was looking at her? Why?"

"I dunno; he was just looking at her in a way that caught my attention..." Sonia whispered.

"…I hope that Cowpoke's not just another creep…" Ani muttered. "…but since he's got a kid, I guess that wouldn't be true…"

"No, he seems like a reasonable and likeable guy." Sonia whispered. "A far cry from creeps like Raider and Hex, _that's_ for sure..."

"Tell me about it," groaned Ani.

"...hmm..." Sonia hummed... before she smiled. "...maybe I can visit him later and ask him what's up?" she mused, before taking a swig from the bottle.

"…that wouldn't be a bad idea," Ani mused.

* * *

><p>Hunter finally arrived to his destination, which was somewhere else in town, and it wasn't long at all before he found Sage. "Okay Sage; you said you needed my help?" he said.<p>

"Yep." Sage nodded, before she closed her eyes. "Let me just fill you in..."

Instantly, a large mass of information appeared and flowed through Hunter's head. He blinked, and his eyes widened. "…are you serious?" he complained. "Will and his group chose Christmas time to play such a practical joke?"

"It was meant as a harmless prank, sure, but it ended up causing a lot more damage than needed." Sage sighed. "We can't let it look like it does with Christmas around the corner..."

Hunter sighed too, and rubbed his brow. "…well, with enough soldiers, I'm sure it can get cleaned up in a jiffy," he said.

"Hopefully, yeah." Sage nodded, rubbing her head.

"…let's get to it then…" Hunter muttered. "Take me where the building is…"

"Right this way." Sage said with a nod, before she began heading off in one direction.

Hunter followed her, and the two walked down the road for a long while. The snow started to fall thicker now, and every time it hit their faces, it bit coldly. However, Hunter was used to such a cold winter like this from years of his own experiences living in the cold. Sage seemed more attuned to the harsh weather as well; her experiences combined with her psychic abilities let her traverse the cold without as much as a grimace.

Eventually they reached where they were headed, and already there were a bunch of soldiers there. It used to be a building, but now it was in shambles of broken glass, boards, shingle, and many other things. It looked like a twister took it right down, but it looked very off-taking considering that the other buildings around it were perfectly unharmed.

"...well, here it is..." Sage sighed, looking at those ruins.

"Okay…" Hunter cracked his knuckles. "Step back everybody!" When everyone saw him raise his hands, they were quick to run out of the way. It took quite a little bit of concentration to lift most of the pieces out of the way to lessen the mess. In fact, Hunter wasn't quite able to get all of it and he had to stop.

"…Damn… I must be getting old or something…" he muttered.

"...you want me to give you a hand?" Sage inquired, tilting her head as she walked next to Hunter.

"…no, it's fine," Hunter said. "I was just rearranging the mess so that the rest of the soldiers could work more easily…" and after that, the soldiers went back to work.

"...don't worry; you're not growing too old just yet." Sage chuckled, patting Hunter on his shoulder.

"Whether we want to deny it or not, we'll get old eventually," Hunter remarked. "Then we'll have to find people to hand down the responsibilities of taking care of everything…"

"...hey, that's not gonna happen for at least 25 years from now." Sage chuckled. "For now, let's just do what we do best."

Hunter chuckled then. "…knowing King, it would be over 30 years for him…maybe even more."

"Definitely more," Sage chuckled in return.

"…sometimes I envy the energy he has…" Hunter murmured. "…but I don't envy the trouble he got into when he was younger…"

"...well, we all got into our own sets of trouble." Sage mused with a shrug. "Not much that can be done about that."

"True…" Hunter murmured. He saw more soldiers passing by that came over and started to lend a hand; that group of five hounds included. With more of the help, Hunter decided to at least pitch in a little bit, and he rose some more of the pieces off the area like the rest of the soldiers. Sage decided to help as well; by moving other pieces out of the soldiers' way.

* * *

><p>Jill stood outside in the cold. She was wearing a coat that Sonia let her borrow… and boots and mittens and a scarf too. Sonia let her borrow a lot of things… after all, the only thing she had was that cloak when she came here during the summer months ago and the clothes on her back, along with the blanket that Joy was wrapped up in.<p>

Other than that, she had almost nothing. For Sonia to give her so much stuff, she was thankful. Most of her old clothes were torn and worn out; except, somehow, for her favorite green jacket that she's had for all these years. That green jacket must have been enchanted or something…it's been with her for so long, through so many things, standing the test of time and hardship with only a little rips here and there, but rips that were easily fixed.

…that's the only possession she's had to hold the most memories…along with some written journal entries that she carried around with her.

Right now, she was standing in the snow, taking another full look around Safe Haven. Yes, she's been here for a few months now, but because Joy was so young, Jill had spent most of her time in that little cozy cabin over the summer and autumn. It wasn't until recently that Jill actually started getting out more, and she was taking in the sight of this town with some amazement. She never knew a settlement like this could be built on an island that was once nothing more but a military prison base.

She wondered what Sonic, Shadow, and all their other friends would make of all this.

Joy was with Ani, Miser and Ripper in the pub. When Queen left to attend to her duties, they strongly insisted that Jill finally walk around a bit and take a breather. Jill was almost certain that Ani wanted more time to play with baby Joy, and she would've giggled at the thought. Though she was apprehensive about the idea, Jill finally agreed to it… and for the first time ever, she was away from Joy for now, all alone…

"...so, you're this Jill, hm?"

Jill blinked, and turned her head.

The one who called to her was a female octopus, who gave Jill a nod. "...it's a pleasure to meet you." she said with a sultry smirk.

Jill just kept staring at her, wondering who she was.

With a chuckle, the octopus approached her. "...let me introduce myself." she said, taking Jill's hand. "My name is Hex." Jill's eyes widened then and she yanked away her hand with a glare of detest at her. So this was the Hex that tried to take her away all those months ago…

Hex just chuckled. "Oh, my; how angry you seem." she mused. "Was it something I said?"

Jill only glared back at her.

"...what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Hex chuckled, shaking her head. "I can see that you're... agitated. Why don't we step inside, and …talk it over?"

Jill only folded her arms and kept glaring at Hex, more suspiciously now. She remembered what happened, and going with this woman somewhere was a bad idea.

"...oh, what's with that look?" Hex chuckled, pressing a finger against her own lips. "I just want to talk, honest. I won't hurt you... unless you want me to."

Jill shook her head at Hex, and turned to walk away from her. Before she could, though, Hex suddenly snatched Jill with a tentacle, keeping her from moving. "Now don't be rude, Jill." she huffed. "I'd just like to get to know you better. Is that so wrong?"

Jill looked at the tentacle that Hex wrapped around her, and she glared back at Hex. She wanted her to let go…

"...now... shall we step inside?" Hex hummed, motioning towards the cabin. "Or would you rather we step into my personal quarters?"

Jill put her hand on the tentacle and tried to pry it off of her. In response, Hex just coiled it slightly tighter around Jill. "Oh, no, no, no, don't be like that... mmmh... actually, _do_ be like that. It makes things more exciting." she chuckled.

"You take your slimy, slithering little tentacle off of the lady…"

Jill took another look, and realized that someone was standing between her and Hex, holding a shotgun in his hand. He flicked his cowboy hat up, showing Hex a harsh glare. "I thought King and his troupe made it perfectly clear that you leave her alone, Hex," growled Cowpoke.

Looking at Cowpoke, Hex grit her teeth. "...upstart little country bumpkin..." she hissed. Though her glare didn't lose its intensity, the tentacle uncoiled itself from Jill, letting her go.

"I wouldn't harm a hair on a mouse, but you push yer luck, and I'll be forced to use ol' Buckwheat here," Cowpoke said, pumping his shotgun. "And I ain't afraid to go back to prison…"

That saying really took Jill's attention, not to mention that he pumped the shotgun. Was he really going to use it?

…and… he's been in prison?

Cowpoke then pointed the shotgun at Hex. "So why don't you just be on your way, huh?"

Hex snarled again. "...you won't be here forever, pup." she huffed, before she slithered off; shooting Cowpoke a hateful glare before she left.

When Hex was gone, Cowpoke let down his guard, and a smirk appeared across his face. Then a chuckle, which turned into amused laughter. Jill stared at him in bewilderment and slight fear. Why was he laughing so much?

"I didn't even have any ammo in this thing," Cowpoke laughed, popping the shotgun open. Sure enough, there wasn't any ammo in there. "Good thing she bought my bluff…"

Now that Jill understood what was so funny, she actually smiled a little bit. That _was_ pretty amusing…

"Yer okay, right?" Cowpoke asked. Jill nodded. "That's good," he responded, looking relieved. "…believe it or not, I really would use this thing if it was that serious…"

Jill was a bit surprised to hear him say that. She didn't know that there was actually someone besides King's group and Sonia that would get violent if it meant keeping her safe.

"Yeah, Petunia never really approved of that kind of behavior, but what can I say? A man's got to do what a man's got to do," Cowpoke said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "…even if it DOES mean going to prison for it…"

So he was telling the truth about the prison. Jill tilted her head in wondering.

"Oh, you wonderin' what I went to prison fer?" Cowpoke asked, just to see Jill nod. "…well, I was young back then and I thought I was kinda above rules. Only reason they were able to catch me was 'cause they were just a bit faster. I put up a hell of a fight too, and I was put in jail a lot for assault…but I still think I dun some of them things for good reasons. After all, most of the times I hit someone was because they were pickin' on somebody smaller'n them."

Jill blinked. She didn't know that he had a history of fighting like that… maybe Safe Haven was a good place for him…

"…that's mostly why my Pa has issues with me," Cowpoke continued. "See, I've been quarrelin' with the guy for my whole life. He'd give me such a lecture for makin' my poor Ma worry about me so much. We even got in our own fist fights… I guess I brought Mud-Pie here so that I can show him to be a strong man like his daddy… that… and I don't wanna treat him like my Pa treated me…I wanna encourage the boy to be good."

Jill smiled and nodded in agreement.

"…oh damn, I just went flapping my gums without warning, didn't I?" Cowpoke chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry…" Jill shook her head with a smile and waved, meaning that it was alright and he didn't have to apologize.

Cowpoke smiled at her.

"…I… gotta go find my buddies," Cowpoke said, kicking a pebble. Then his head lowered. "Y'see, we've still got some things to do before Christmas comes around and we can relax."

Jill nodded.

Cowpoke looked back up at her… this time, with kind of a sad smile. "…be careful, 'kay? It's pretty easy to get cornered like that again if yer all alone, and there might not be somebody to step in next time…" Jill nodded again in understanding, and that was enough for Cowpoke to start walking away.

That look was still very intriguing for Jill, and she watched him walk away with wonder.

"Jill!"

At that point, Sonia ran up to Jill, glancing towards where Cowpoke was walking off. "...what happened?" she inquired, glancing back at Jill.

Jill reached into her coat for the notepad.

_I finally met Hex, and she saw how agitated I was, so she insisted that we "talk somewhere private." I knew that would be a bad idea, but when I tried to walk away, Hex grabbed me. Then Cowpoke stepped in and drove her off, _she wrote.

"...oh, I see..." Sonia hummed, before she looked back at where Cowpoke once was. "...I went and checked if he was home, but he wasn't... guess that explains where he went." Then, she sighed. "Good thing that he drove away Hex; if she had gotten you somewhere no one could get to you..." she uttered, shuddering.

…_you wouldn't have to tell me anything,_ Jill wrote, shuddering as well.

"...hn." Sonia grunted, before she looked at Jill. "...did you and Cowpoke talk?"

_Well, more like he talked and I listened, _Jill wrote jokingly, smiling when she wrote.

"Aah." Sonia nodded, smiling as well. "...just curious, but what kind of impression did you get from him?"

_He seems very friendly,_ Jill wrote. _At first, he seemed really violent with Hex with a shotgun, but when she left, he showed me that it didn't even have any ammo in it, and he thought it was so entertaining that Hex bought his bluff… but he told me that if Hex actually hurt me, then he really would've used it._

"...really..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...anything else?"

_He's been to prison before, apparently,_ Jill continued to write. _He said that it's mostly been for assault charges because he's been sticking up for people, and he got into a lot of fist fights; even with his own father. He said that he brought his son here so that he could encourage him to be strong, and not have to be treated like how his father treated him._

…_then he looked a little sad when he said that he had to go find his friends, and he told me to be sure and not get cornered again. He actually seemed a little worried when he said that next time, there might not be someone to step in for me, _Jill finished writing.

"...is that right..." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her chin. "...I getcha..." Then, she nodded. "Right; the important thing is that Hex isn't bugging you. You wanna go pick up Joy, now?"

Jill nodded, and stuck her notepad back in her coat. Rubbing her hands together, Sonia began walking ahead of them. _...very interesting... I should confront Cowpoke about this soon, _she thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Nighttime fell over the island, and that was when the blizzard picked up a little bit. Not many soldiers walked around on this evening outside. Most stayed in the pub, where the alcohol would warm them up.<p>

"Just one more day until Christmas Eve!" Ani cheered.

A bunch of soldiers cheered as well and raised their glasses to that.

"Amen to that!" one of the soldiers laughed.

"...loud as always..." Sage chuckled, as she sat by the counter, "...just like it should be."

"They'll all be pretty happy to know that there's no training tomorrow and they could relax," Hunter added. "Plus, there'll be lots of people to come and visit some of them. Tomorrow sure is going to be crazy…"

"I'll say," Ani said. "There's always going to be people here!"

"Right you are." Sage chuckled.

""scuse me, can I have another round?" another soldier said, raising his glass at the counter.

"Coming up!" Ani said.

"Hey, can I get one, too?" another voice called, as a certain rattlesnake raised her glass towards the counter as well.

"Sure Sonia!" called Ani.

Cowpoke chuckled. "…this is some place," he muttered.

"Great, isn't it?" Sonia chuckled.

"…where do people like them come up with the idea for Safe Haven?" Cowpoke wondered, taking a sip from his large mug.

"I guess King's been having that idea for many years." Sonia shrugged. "He's never really disclosed why, though."

"…hm…to build a place like this, you'd have to be daring and crazy…" Cowpoke mused, looking at his drink.

"Here you go Sonia!" Ani finally came around and poured more for Sonia.

"Thanks!" Sonia said with a smile, before she turned back to Cowpoke. "Well, daring and crazy are just two words one could use to describe King with." she snickered.

"No kidding," Ani agreed. Then she looked at Cowpoke. "You want a refill?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Cowpoke replied.

"Alrighty then!" Ani said, vanishing away into the crowd.

With a small laugh, Sonia took a swig from her drink, before placing the glass on the table. With the crowd full of chatter... "...so, Cowpoke... how are things nowadays?"

"Not too bad," Cowpoke said. "Me and my boys have gotten the hang of things around here, so we've been able to stay outta trouble."

"That's good." Sonia hummed. "Have the others found anything particular to do in their spare time?"

"Smokey's been explorin' on his own around the island," Cowpoke started, tapping his chin. "Merde and Rott in the meantime have been pretty much doing their own thing. In fact, the times we're all together are usually when it's lights out back at the barracks or when we decide to gather here and have ourselves food that's better than what the Mess Hall can offer."

"Right..." Sonia hummed. "...and you and Mud-Pie?"

Cowpoke smiled. "He's been getting better," he said. "I can see some improvements in him, and he's so durn happy about it too. It's adorable, really…"

Sonia smiled as well. "...what about you, then?"

"I've been alright," Cowpoke said with a shrug. "After all, I'm still not used to a place that actually lets me beat the crap out of somebody who's bugging me without too much of a punishment… guess I've been around the outside world for too long."

"Hm." Sonia mused, taking a small swig. "...are you enjoying the sights, by any chance?"

"Well, island's pretty big. I'd say that Smokey would be enjoying the sights more than I was," Cowpoke said.

Sonia giggled a little. "I wasn't talking about the scenery, Cowpoke."

"Oh, you weren't?" he asked curiously. "Then what were you talkin' about?"

"C'mon, you know what I'm talking about." Sonia giggled, playfully nudging Cowpoke's shoulder. "You can tell me; there's no need to be shy about it."

Cowpoke blinked at her. "…talk about what?" he asked again. "I'm confused."

"Oh, come on; it's been a few months." Sonia said with a smirk. "There's got to be someone you've set your eyes on, right?"

Cowpoke took a minute to think, and then a small smile crossed his face. "Oh…I see what'cher talkin' about now…" and after her took a drink, he stared down at it. "…so you noticed…huh?"

"...kinda hard not to." Sonia hummed. "Just a glance the right way, and..."

"…I see," Cowpoke murmured.

"Hey, like I said, don't be shy about it." Sonia chuckled. "Go on; confide yourself with me. I'll be more than willing to support ya."

Cowpoke looked at her a bit, and eventually he chuckled. "…well, for one thing, I don't know one thing about romance. That's the reason my marriage was a bust…I mean, we were both REALLY young when Petunia became pregnant with Mud-Pie; she was just 15 and I was 17 at the time. It's just a disaster…"

"…but here I am, thinking about it again…"

"...well..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...what exactly are you thinking, when you look at her?"

"…Petunia was 'cause I was some crazy kid back then and I didn't know better," Cowpoke said. "…but your friend…she's different."

He looked up at Sonia with sincere eyes. "…I'm a good judge of character… and while your friend has the guts to stand up for herself… she's been through so much abuse that she can barely handle taking care of Joy…"

Sonia hummed, nodding a few times as she looked right back at Cowpoke.

"…but there's something about her that really stands out…" Cowpoke added. "…I don't know why, but I feel kinda drawn toward her I guess…maybe 'cause she's got a baby and she was young, like I was…"

"…your friend…she's from a really far place, ain't she?"

"...yeah." Sonia nodded. "She used to live in a village, far removed from society and everything... but she was exiled, and had to wander off on her own." Then, she sighed. "...she's been through a lot."

"…somebody told me that something tragic happened to Joy's father," Cowpoke said. "I think it might've been Ani…"

"...yeah... she lost him to some robbers." Sonia sighed, looking down at her glass.

"…somebody like her that's been through so much… and she's still on her feet like that," Cowpoke said. "…I…admire her for that…"

"...really, now..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little.

Cowpoke took another drink, falling silent after that. He looked a bit sad again, but he tried to hide it in front of Sonia.

"...is there something else on your mind?" Sonia inquired, tilting her head at seeing him looking a bit sad.

"…with your friend the way she is, I don't want to push her into something that she won't be able to handle," Cowpoke said. "…and my divorce was pretty ugly, so…in a way, I guess I'm not sure if I'm ready to try again or not…"

"...hmm..." Sonia hummed, before sighing. "...I can get it if you're not feeling ready yet..." she mused, as she took another swig, "...but you wouldn't necessarily be pushing her into it. It doesn't have to be sudden; it could be eased into..."

"I suppose," Cowpoke responded. "…but we got children in the factor too. Joy, maybe not so much since she's too young…but I'm not sure if I should let Mud-Pie get attached to her, only to find out that we won't see each other again. After all, the divorce hit my son harder than me…"

"...right..." Sonia nodded, drumming her fingers against the table. "...well... I'm no expert when children are involved... but before you involve the kids, I think it might be best if you and Jill find out whether or not it'll... y'know, work." With a small nod, she took another swig of her drink.

"Right…" Cowpoke took another drink of his. "…sometimes…I wish she could talk…just so I could hear what her voice might sound like… maybe it'd sound as gentle as her…"

"...I'm sure it does." Sonia nodded, before he finished what was in her glass. "...damn it all, I'm gonna be waking up in bed next to some random guy while swearing never to drink again tomorrow." she eventually snickered. "That's how it usually goes."

"Why not just stay here?" Cowpoke suggested. "The storm out there's not looking too good, and drunks aren't fit to walking around in the ice and snow; even though it's funny as hell to watch them slip all over themselves."

"Even so, I'm _still_ gonna end up waking up next to some guy tomorrow morning." Sonia chuckled. "That's what happens when I get drunk; no exceptions."

Cowpoke chuckled a little bit, and took one last drink to finish it off. Then he fell silent for a little while, until…

"…Brownie…"

Blinking, Sonia looked at Cowpoke. "...come again?"

"…hm?" Cowpoke looked up at Sonia curiously.

"...you... just said Brownie." Sonia pointed out. "What, are you getting the munchies?"

"…no…" Cowpoke murmured. "….that's…what she kinda reminds me of…she's brown, and she seems sweet…like chocolate brownies…it just came out of nowhere in my head."

Sonia blinked. "...uh... huh." she blinked. "...you... sure you're still sober, if only a bit?"

Cowpoke shrugged. "Maybe I'm piss drunk for all I know…"

"...you know, maybe I am, too." Sonia shrugged, before she raised her glass. "Hey, Ani, can I get a refill?" she called.

"Sure!" Ani called from across the pub.

"…I still suggest staying in one of the back rooms of the pub," Cowpoke said; "if you plan on getting so drunk... hell, that's probably what I'll have to do. It'd be too cold in the barracks for Mud-Pie to try and sleep."

"True..." Sonia nodded. "...but I'm still gonna be dragging some guy with me in my drunken stupor." she shrugged.

"Choose wisely then," Cowpoke chuckled.

"Right." Sonia nodded, before she began looking around her. "Let's see... who looks good right now, and who's going to look fifty times better when I'm giggling like a schoolgirl thanks to the alcohol?"

Cowpoke shrugged, and when Ani came by to pour them some more drinks, he started looking around.

Then his eyes fell upon another's in the pub. It was Sage, who seemed to be eying him and Sonia from the corner of her eye. Rather than looking away in a flustered manner, she just shot Cowpoke a quick smirk, before she returned to her drink.

Cowpoke only found it suspicious, but he let it go when he took another drink.

* * *

><p>"...oh, it makes me mad!" With a yell, Hex tossed an empty wine bottle right against a wall, before she slumped down on her king-sized bed with a massive pout. "Damn good-for-nothing stupid filthy pound dog..." she murmured, folding her arms. With a groan, she turned over on her bed. "Not only does he have the nerve to insult me, but he ruined my fun as well..." With a hiss, she grabbed another bottle, and tossed it at the wall. "I'm <em>not<em> a gas station toilet, damn it!"

Before this one hit the wall though, a hand caught it.

"...hngh?" With an angry scowl, Hex glared at the wall she thought the glass bottle would strike.

"We don't want to make a mess, do we?"

It was Diablo standing there.

"...Diablo...?" Hex uttered, slowly sitting up. "...you, coming into my abode? _That's_ a first..."

"I'm sure it is," Diablo spoke. "But then again, holidays call for the unusual…"

"...unusual..." Hex hummed, before she glanced downwards... and her mood turned from sour to bright. "...now who's your little friend?"

As it turned out, Kiri poked out from behind Diablo, looking warily at Hex.

"She's my little sister…" Diablo answered, pulling something out from behind his back. It turned out to be a knife. "…and if you try touching her, you'll get this lodged up that hole of yours."

"Mmmh..." Hex chuckled, wagging her finger at Diablo. "So quick to violence... that's what I like about you." Then, she rose from the bed, folding her arms. "So, what brings you here? Couldn't get enough of the holiday spirit?"

Diablo scoffed. "I don't give a crap about Christmas. It's all bullshit… I'm just wondering what happened this morning regarding that woman and the cowboy. It was a curious sight…"

"...you saw that?" Hex huffed, before she folded her arms. "I attempted to pay Jill a visit when she was all on her own. The soldiers I was going to pay to deliver her to me didn't do any good, so I figured I'd give it a shot myself... and that... flea-ridden _scum_... just showed up and killed my buzz. Hell, he could've killed _me_, with that damn shotgun of his..."

Kiri just narrowed her eyes a little.

"…so that's it," Diablo murmured dryly.

"...feh." Hex scoffed. "I can't stand that bag of fleas, anyway. He's just no fun..."

"...you're just mad because he made fun of you for being a nasty." Kiri pointed out.

This just made Hex fume, as she had an incredibly offended look on her face from that remark.

"I'm sure he was bluffing about using the shotgun," Diablo spoke. "Maybe he just has a strong-willed façade, hiding an insecure inner being…"

"...insecure...?" Hex blinked, looking crossly at Diablo.

"…I can tell that a lot of soldiers on here pretend to be tough, just because it's a warrior nation and you have to be tough," Diablo said. "But in the barracks, the soldiers are really nervous and jittery when things go bump in the night…perhaps the same could go for that cowboy?"

"...hrm..." Humming, Hex rubbed her chin; as if the thought hadn't struck her before now. "...curious..."

"...you mean you didn't consider that the nasty was a phony?" Kiri scoffed.

"Shush." Hex huffed. "For being so young, your little sister has quite the mouth on her, Diablo."

"Don't blame me," Diablo said.

"I'm not." Hex groaned, rolling her eyes. "...hm... if he's just putting on an act to make himself look tougher..." she mused, glancing to the side with a thoughtful look.

"Anyhow, we'll be leaving now," Diablo said, taking Kiri's hand to walk away. "If I even cared at all for this stupid holiday, now would be the time where I wished you Merry Christmas…"

"...right." Hex hummed, as she was rubbing her chin. "...on your way out, would you tell Mordecai to come up here? I need to discuss something with him."

Kiri just stepped closer to Diablo, shooting Hex a look.

"Whatever," Diablo grunted. Then they were gone…

With a hum, Hex sat down on her bed, picking up one of the empty wine bottles; just weighing it in her hand with a thoughtful expression.

In a little while, her manservant, who was a male Siamese cat, came into the room. "You wanted to speak to me, madam?" he asked.

"...yes." Hex nodded, placing the wine bottle on the floor. "You're aware of those five hounds who were part of the new recruits, correct?"

"Yes, I believe so," the cat answered.

"...I want you to keep an eye on two of them; the father and his son. I have some... business to deal with them." Hex nodded. "The son, for instance... how old would you say he is?"

"I would say he's about five or six years old," the cat supposed.

"Hmph... not much of a challenge, there." Hex hummed, drumming her fingers together. "If he was about ten years older, I could've focused my efforts exclusively on him; I'd get something proper out of it, then... but, I suppose blackmail and hostages would be par for the course." Then, she nodded. "From now on, keep an eye on them, and give me reports on what their weaknesses are..." Then, she sighed. "...and... go get one of the slaves in the dungeon; I haven't gotten anything in a while..."

"…yes ma'am," he answered, turning to leave.

With a sigh, Hex dropped onto the bed, fanning herself. "The things I have to go through..." she murmured, though she grinned a little, "...but, I suppose the payoff will be more than worth the effort."

* * *

><p>The next day came to Safe Haven, and since it was Christmas Eve, there was all kinds of activity going on throughout the entire island. Soldiers were running through town to see what shopping they could do for their buddies, and the dock was crowded with so many Mobians, awaiting the ferry to roll in and unload loved ones and friends that came to visit each of the soldiers.<p>

Every time the ferry came, the soldiers cheered out loud and those on the ferry would rush out to meet the soldiers. Others on the ferry calmly disembarked.

Like one Mobian for instance.

Flamenco even had to stop him for a moment. "…Senor, I believe you look familiar…have we met?"

"…not sure," answered an older looking ram with a pony tail and maroon colored horns. He may have had wrinkles, but he had a perfectly healthy, strong looking body. He had a large bag over his shoulder stitched up roughly in some places.

Flamenco shrugged, and moved him along with the rest of them.

The ram moved his way through the large crowd of soldiers until he was out in the open, and with that, he continued walking up the slope into the island, wondering where the person that he came to visit would be.

"...ugh." That pathetic groan came not too far from where the ram was headed; as someone was trudging through the snow whilst holding her head. "...why do I keep doing this...?" she uttered.

"…That kind of groan sounds familiar," said the ram. "You wouldn't happen to be on a hangover, would you?" After all, he was a friendly guy and he was used to making conversation with strangers.

"...you hit the nail on the head, hammer-sir." the girl groaned. "I'm heading home to get a shower and just drop down in bed... like I do it with every other time I get a hangover..."

"Make sure and have something to eat with lots of protein, fats, and carbs. That'll really help too," suggested the ram. "I've had my fair share of drinking and that's always helped me."

"...really?" she uttered. "...huh... never thought of that before."

The ram smiled. "Well, have a Merry Christmas. I have someone that I'm looking for…" and he started walking off.

"...hey, hold on!" the girl called. "Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help you out a bit?"

"Is that so?" the ram stopped and looked back at the girl. "Well, that would be very much appreciated ma'am. Thank you."

"No problem." the girl, who was a rattlesnake, nodded. "The one you're looking for... what does he or she look like?"

The ram chuckled a bit. "Well, for starters, she looks quite a bit like me. I'm looking for my daughter, you see."

The rattlesnake blinked... and her eyes widened marginally. "...y-your daughter?" she sputtered. "Wow, so you're her... holy- uh, just follow me!" With a nod, she began heading off in another direction.

The ram was surprised at the rattlesnake's response, but without further ado, he followed her. The rattlesnake was silent as she kept moving, but from what the ram could tell, she was more than surprised.

The ram was still bewildered by that.

But then…

"HELP! OH GOD, HELP!" screamed a voice.

"GET BACK HERE!" another voice yelled in return.

The rattlesnake stopped immediately, before glancing to the side. "Shoot... what now?" she hissed, before running towards where the voices came from.

"Hm, sounds like trouble," mused the ram, following the rattlesnake quickly. "Well, it's a warrior nation after all…"

They got there and a Mobian with cuffs around her arms and legs tied to chains was trying to get back on her feet before that monster caught her. She was a very colorful bird, but all her colors were faded from the abuse she had taken.

Before she could get on her feet, however, a large boar suddenly grabbed her by her head, pushing her against the ground. "You should've stayed in your cell, slave!" he grunted.

"...kkh... one of Hex's cronies." the rattlesnake hissed, before she prepared to run right up to fight the boar.

"…hm…"

The ram set his bag down on the ground. Then he opened it up and pulled out something; a bow and arrow. "Hey you!" he called out to the large boar, right as he shot an arrow at him.

"Hn?" was really all the boar managed to say, before the arrow struck true; right in his arm. With a pained yell, the boar let go of the bird, and stomped away from her, whilst glaring at the ram. "You...!"

While surprised that the ram had been carrying a bow and arrow with him, the rattlesnake quickly ran over to the bird, helping her on her feet. "Don't worry; you're safe now." she assured, quickly moving away from the boar; with the bird in tow, of course.

"Oh Sonia, I'm so glad to see you!" the bird almost was in tears at this point.

Meanwhile, the ram put his bow around himself. "Well, you're a big guy, aren't you?"

The boar grunted, glaring at the ram. "What's it to ya, old man?" he snarled. "Now apologize for that! It _really_ hurt!"

"I think you're the one who owes the apology to the miss here," the ram replied. "What was this whole thing about anyway?"

The boar scoffed. "She managed to slip out of her cell recently, and my boss told me to get her back." he said. "I don't get involved in what business Hex has with her slaves, but as long as I get paid, I do as I'm told."

"…slaves…"

The ram shook his head. "…where I come from, we look down on slavery…so in which case, I'm going to have to stop you from taking this woman."

The bird stared in wonder. "…Sonia…who is he?"

Sonia blinked a little. "...he's... Jill's dad."

The boar roared, and quickly charged towards the ram; aiming to give him a solid punch to the face. The ram ducked underneath his punch, and he threw his head right into his gut. For most people, it would only hurt a little…

…but his large horns, combined with a massive amount of strength behind this head-butt, it would surely make a big guy like him fly. And indeed it did; sending the boar flying high up in the air, before he slammed against the snow. Groaning, he tried stumbling up on his feet, but to little avail.

"I'm not sure who has a thicker head; you, or me," the ram remarked. "…but I must be on my way, so Merry Christmas." With that, he went back to Sonia and the bird and picked up his bag.

Sonia just looked at the ram with wide eyes. "...whoa." she uttered.

"So you _do_ know my daughter," the ram continued, without regarding the boar whatsoever. "My name's Ray."

"...uh... hello, Ray..." Sonia uttered, giving him a nod. "...I'm Sonia. Me and Jill are... well, I guess you could say roommates." Then, she looked at the bird. "...just hurry to the infirmary. Miser's bound to be there to lend you a hand." she told her.

"I'm s-sorry, would you take me there?" the bird uttered. "I don't want to go anywhere alone ever again!"

Sonia looked at her, before she sighed. "...alright, I'll take you there." she said, before giving the bird a pat on the shoulder. "Relax; Hex is never gonna do anything to you again, you hear?" Then, she looked at Ray. "Guess we're headed for the infirmary first."

"That's fine," Ray replied. "I would like to catch up with King and his group after all. It's been a long time since I last saw them."

"...you know them, too?" Sonia hummed, before she smiled. "It shouldn't be a surprise, and yet..." she murmured, before she began walking; leading the bird along. "It's this way."

The bird held tight to Sonia while Ray followed them.

For some reason, Ray had the feeling they were being watched, and he looked around. He didn't see anyone as far as he knew, but he still had that feeling.

Eventually, they made it to the infirmary, and without even knocking, Sonia went right inside. The only one in there at the moment was Miser, who looked at Sonia with a surprised look. "Wha- what's happened?" she uttered, quickly walking towards them.

"She managed to get away from Hex's place." Sonia said, patting the bird's back. "She'll need someone to keep watch over her for a while, I can tell."

"...of course." Miser nodded.

The bird was hunched over, just trying not to cry. Ray came over and set her hand on her shoulder. "It'll take time…but you'll get through it," he said. To the bird, he had just such a calming voice, and she managed to calm down for now. Sonia, in turn, stepped a bit away to give the bird some space.

They got the bird into a bed, and the moment she was lying down on it, she fell to a peaceful sleep; probably the first peaceful sleep she's had in a long time.

"...there..." Miser sighed, wiping her brow, before she looked at Ray and Sonia. "Good thing you got her to me right away..." she hummed, before she blinked; looking more closely at Ray. "...have we met before?" she inquired.

"I don't think we've met, but I know who you are," Ray replied. "I think the only one that I've actually met was Queen."

"...Queen..." Miser hummed, rubbing her chin a little. "...hm. I don't think she's mentioned you... but you _do_ look familiar..."

Ray chuckled. "I'm Jillian's father."

That certainly made Miser reel in surprise. "Jill's dad?" she sputtered.

"You know, that's about the same reaction I had." Sonia noted.

"Buh..." Miser uttered, quickly composing herself. "...Jill's dad... I see..." she slowly nodded. "...you're here to visit her, then?"

Ray nodded.

"...right..." Miser nodded. "...um... last I remember, she and Joy slept over for the night in the pub."

"As did a good deal of us." Sonia remarked. "I was gonna take Ray over there so he could meet Jill."

"Oh, is that right?" Miser hummed, before she smiled. "I suppose I shouldn't take up your time, then."

Ray nodded again. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Miser said with a nod.

"Alright; let's head off." Sonia said, before she headed out of the infirmary. Ray turned and went ahead after her.

* * *

><p>"I should NOT have gotten drunk last night," groaned Hunter, with his face practically sagging against the counter that morning.<p>

"A sentiment I share with you." Sage groaned, rubbing her head a little. "Though I think Sonia had it worse when it came to hangovers."

"Ha ha, I didn't drink," teased Ani while she cleaned up the counters.

"And believe me; I'll make sure that it stays that way," Hunter muttered, glaring at Ani.

"I suppose I'll have to make sure that you make sure of that." Sage sighed, as she glanced at Hunter.

"Agh, don't confuse me like that," moaned Hunter, holding his head.

"Sorry; that's just what I do." Sage shrugged.

The butler doors to the back opened and someone walked out, rubbing his tired head under his hat. "What a night…" moaned Cowpoke, sitting himself on one of the stools at the counter.

"Good morning." Sage said with a nod to him. "Are we feeling well? The answer is not yes." she chuckled.

Cowpoke chuckled a little bit. "Well, even then, I'm used to what a hangover is like…I can deal with it better than most people."

"Then I envy you," Hunter moaned.

"Where's Mud-Pie?" Ani asked.

"Still asleep, along with Jill and her baby," Cowpoke replied.

"Ah." Sage nodded. "At least they won't wake up with hangovers." she chuckled.

"Right…" Cowpoke chuckled. Then he rubbed his temples. "I don't think I could get behind the idea of Mud-Pie drinking…"

"I know how you feel," Hunter added.

"Hm." Sage hummed in response.

At that point, the door opened, and two people walked in. "Hiya!" Sonia called as she entered the pub.

"Hi Sonia!" Ani said, looking over… and then she flinched considerably- "WHA?—Ray?"

"Ani, you've really grown since I saw you last," remarked the ram, eyebrows raised.

Cowpoke looked over curiously.

"...Ray..." Sage hummed, shooting him a glance and a nod, smiling. "...been a while."

Ray nodded back at Sage. "It sure has, Sage."

"Oh, I remember you now," Hunter pointed out. "…you're…"

"I'm sure I can figure out what you're going to say," Ray chuckled, walking in and setting his stuff down into one of the chairs.

"Jill's asleep in the backrooms right now, and so's Joy," Ani said.

"Is that so?" Ray asked. "That's good then. How've they been?"

"Hmm..." Sage hummed, tapping her chin. "...well, she's been fine. We've been taking care of her, Ray."

"Right!" Sonia nodded. "In fact, you guys said something about a surprise for her, right?"

"Oh, yes; we've planned something special for her when the new year comes around." Sage said with a smile.

"That's good to hear," Ray said with a smile. "So she's been doing better?"

"Yeah," Hunter replied.

Cowpoke kept looking back and forth between whoever was talking, until finally he cleared his throat, and looked at Ray. "It seems like you're an old friend. Pardon me for asking, but how do you know Jill and Joy?" he asked. "Who are you?"

Ray only smiled at Cowpoke. "I'm Jillian's father."

"…ah…" Cowpoke made much less of a reaction than Sonia or Miser did beforehand, but he grew thoughtful while he looked away from Ray. Sage shot Cowpoke a brief glance, but didn't say anything.

"...she's in the back, right?" Sonia assumed.

"Right, but like we said before, she's still asleep," Hunter muttered.

"Well that's alright," Ray said. "I can just take a seat and wait until she wakes up." He picked a seat next to Cowpoke and sat down. "You don't mind if I accompany you, do I?" Ray asked Cowpoke.

"Not at all," Cowpoke replied with a tip of his hat. "Name's Cowpoke."

"Cowpoke eh? I'm Ray."

"Nice to meet you Ray," Cowpoke said.

"So, Cowpoke, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know my daughter?" Ray started.

Cowpoke shrugged and looked away. "…just an acquaintance of sorts…"

Sage hummed a little. "...Ani, do you think you could cook something up for Ray? I'm sure he must be hungry."

"I know I am." Sonia noted, sitting down. "Ani, could you serve me something with lots of proteins, fats and carbs?"

"Me too," Cowpoke added.

"Alright, so anything that would consist of all those is a hamburger," Ani chuckled, tying an apron around her waist. "A few burgers coming right up."

Hunter blinked and looked at Sonia. "Why so specific?"

"I told her that eating something with those nutrients usually helps with a hangover," Ray spoke. "It's the nutrients that are depleted when someone drinks alcohol."

Cowpoke looked at Ray. "I'm sure you're a fellow drinker as well then, if you know this?"

"I won't deny it," Ray chuckled.

"...hm. Curious." Sage chuckled.

"On our way here, we ran into a little trouble," Ray said, to start conversation.

"Oh?" Hunter perked up a bit. "Did a soldier decide to try and hassle you around, Ray?"

"Well... not exactly." Sonia remarked, rubbing her neck. "Someone managed to escape from Hex, and Ray drove off her pursuer."

"…what kind of person enslaves other soldiers like that?" Ray questioned, growing a bit solemn.

"…someone like Hex," Hunter replied, grumbling. "…and you don't want to know what she does to them Ray…it's horrendous…"

"…hm…" Ray folded his arms over on the counter and closed his eyes. _…I'm sure it can't be as evil as Deity Novagod,_ he thought.

_...on a grander scale, not really._ Sage responded in his head. _But just in terms of short-term consequences... not many leave Hex's abode without both physical and mental scars. Sad, really..._

…_what a shame… _Ray thought in response. _…my daughter and granddaughter haven't had the misfortune of meeting this Hex, have they?_

_As far as I know, no... and I am thankful for that._ Sage responded.

…_that's good…_ Ray thought, calming down a bit. _…so you all have been doing your best to protect her…?_

_We have. _Sage hummed. _So far, I'd say that we've been doing a good job._

Ray smiled a little. _…thank you._

_Eh, don't mention it_. Sage hummed with a chuckle.

The butler doors opened finally, and Ani had finished cooking the burgers too, handing them onto the counter while she looked over at who was walking out. Jill was carrying a still sleeping Joy while she had Mud-pie by her other hand. When she saw who all was here, she stopped.

Ray smiled more, and stood up. "Surprise."

Jill broke into a big smile, and Ray came over and hugged her carefully to make sure they didn't wake Joy up. Though nothing was said, the others just smiled at this sight.

"…you look much better," Ray said, stroking back Jill's hair. "…and it looks like Joy's grown a bit since I last saw her," he chuckled, looking at the sleeping baby in her arms. "It's nice to see you honey."

Jill nodded with a big smile in return. She was glad to see him too.

"...you wouldn't happen to be hungry, Jill?" Sage hummed. "I'm sure that Ani could make you something, if you'd like."

Jill nodded in appreciation. She actually was pretty hungry. Seeing that nod, Ani threw another burger on for her.

"Morning Dad," Mud-Pie said, taking the open seat next to him.

"Hey there sport; you're taking Ray's seat," Cowpoke chuckled.

"Don't worry about that," Ray mused.

"...so, is everyone excited for tonight?" Sonia eventually asked, glancing around the pub with a small grin.

"I sure am!" Ani exclaimed, and Hunter winced because of her yell.

"Not so loud Ani…" moaned Hunter.

"Oh?" Ray grew curious when he took his plate of food and moved it to his new seat; Jill taking another seat next to him with sleeping Joy in her arms. "What's tonight?"

"The Christmas Party!" Sonia said with a wide grin.

"It's a get-together we're having in celebration of the holiday." Sage mused with a smile. "I wonder, Ray; do you think you'll be around for the festivities?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can stay long enough to come to this party," Ray chuckled, folding up his burger to begin eating.

"They've got their own party going on at the barracks, so me'n Mud-Pie'll be there," Cowpoke said, taking a bite out of his burger. "But maybe me and the boys can stop by and say hello, if King would allow it?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Sage hummed. "As long as we don't get a brawl, things should be alright."

Taking a large bite out of her burger, Sonia nodded a little.

"I think I'd me more worried about my Dad and King getting into a brawl," Ani remarked, laughing a little bit.

"Hey," moaned Hunter. "I'm not that bad…King's the one that starts it…"

"Unless you're both drunk; then _both_ of you start it," Sage chuckled.

Hunter glared at Sage and stuck out his tongue at her.

"Mature, aren't they?" Ray chuckled.

"…oboo…" Jill looked in her arms and Joy's hands started flailing a bit before she realized where she was. Waking up with a small whine, she started touching her mommy's face.

"Oh, she woke up." Sonia pointed out.

Ray looked over. "She's talking now too? Full of surprises…"

Joy heard a new voice and looked over at Ray. She noticed that he seemed a little familiar but she wasn't sure who he was. He looked a lot like her mommy, that's for sure.

"Hi there, little one," Ray began, taking Joy up in his own arms. After all, he was already done with his burger, and he could spend some time with Joy while Jill got something to eat. "You don't remember me, but I remember you."

"Baba," Joy spoke back at Ray, touching his face as well; especially his bearded chin.

"...I just can't get over how adorable she is." Sonia remarked with a slight smile, before she took another bite out of her burger.

"…yeah, she certainly is adorable…" Ray agreed, smiling down at his granddaughter. Joy returned a hand to her face to suck on her thumb and nuzzle up to Ray. This was very familiar to her…

"Aw, she likes you," Ani cooed, placing a burger in front of Mud-Pie and Jill.

"Well, I'm her grandfather after all; I would hope that she likes me," Ray chuckled.

"I don't think you need to worry about anything else." Sage chuckled.

After that, they conversed quite casually while the rest started eating. For Jill, she really was having a good time just listening to all of them talk; she was really glad to see her father show up and visit. It also seemed like Ray and Cowpoke were getting along pretty well.

Eventually, Cowpoke got off his seat. "Well, me and Mud-Pie have to go. I'm sure that his mother is going to come on that ferry and want to see her son after all."

"Okay," Ray said with a nod. "We'll see you around then?"

"Sure," Cowpoke replied with a tip of his hat. Then he turned to walk out with Mud-Pie; once again glancing at Jill before he left.

Jill noticed the glance this time, but she wasn't sure what to make of it. It was strange… like that sad smile she saw yesterday.

"...they sure are a friendly lot, those hounds." Sage remarked with a slight smile, as she kept eating.

"He's got quite a lot of personality," Ray said. "His son is very lucky to have him as a father."

Jill smiled in agreement… and then she had her own sad little smile that no one else noticed. She still wished that Brick was alive… she knew that Brick would be just as good a father, and he would love Joy with all his heart…

_...penny for your thoughts, Jill?_ Sage hummed in Jill's head; to everyone else, she was just occupied with her meal.

…_I mostly wish that Joy still had a father…_ she thought. _…she's doing alright now…but…_ Jill couldn't really finish the thought, and she turned away from everyone else, resting her chin on her palm to think.

_...well... just rest easy._ Sage began; as a way to try and cheer Jill up. _Worrying too much about it won't get you anywhere._

…_I suppose you're right about that,_ Jill replied, glancing at Sage. _…so the party's back at Sonia's cabin?_

_Yep._ Sage hummed. _We plan on having different locations for each year's party, just to make things more interesting, _she added with a mild chuckle.

Jill smiled. _King's idea I suppose?_

_You know it._ Sage replied.

"Graba!" Joy sputtered, giggling at Ray. This stole Jill's attention and she looked over.

"Well, that's close," Ray laughed. "It's 'Grandpa!'"

"Graba!"

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Ray chuckled, rubbing his nose with Joy's nose to make her giggle some more.

After that, Joy kicked her legs and reached for Jill. "Mama! Mama!"

"Oh I see how it is," Ray mused. "You can say Mama, but you can't say Grandpa." With a chuckle, he handed Joy back to Jill.

"...well, to be fair, Grandpa _is_ a more complicated word." Sonia chuckled.

"True," Ray replied. "…Sonia, you said that Jill was staying with you. You wouldn't mind if I stopped by your cabin to take a small tour?"

"Oh, not at all." Sonia said with a nod. "I'll show you the way, even."

"Great," Ray said with a smile, getting up from his seat.

Jill got up too. _Guess we're going to the cabin to set things up I suppose,_ she thought.

_Alright; see you later, then._ Sage hummed with a chuckle.

"Let's go, then!" Sonia called, as she got up and walked out of the pub. "Just follow me!"

* * *

><p>Their Christmas party was lively that night. They sat around a warm fireplace talking and laughing like the old friends they were, having a jolly old time on the holiday's eve. A beautiful Christmas tree was standing in a corner with all kinds of decorations and lights; sparkling elegantly. Foods of many different kinds were lined out on the table, thanks to the efforts of more than one cook.<p>

Once again, King was the one talking, and everyone was laughing at all the stories and jokes he told; Ray included. Mostly, Ray was just amused by him.

"...and with just a single punch, that cheating cheetah surrendered and left the region!" King finished off one of his stories.

"Kekekekeke! That never gets old!" Ripper laughed.

"His dirty tricks sure didn't help him in the long run." Queen mused with a smirk.

"Here, try this story on for size…" Ray began. "A unit of mine and I was out hunting one day and for a while, we weren't getting much of anything…"

Jill rolled her eyes and shook her head. She's heard this story a thousand times.

"Finally, one of my men start shooting their bow at something," Ray continued. "Then he tried again, and apparently the thing they were shooting at wasn't going down. "What're you shooting at?" I asked him. "There's wild game over there!" he told me. "But it's not falling!" "Try shooting it again," I told him, and he did. I saw where he was shooting and sure enough, the animal wasn't going down. So we all went to investigate this weird creature."

"Oho?" Sonia hummed, looking curiously at Ray; along with the others, who looked at the ram.

"Turns out, it was just a tree stump. "Nice shot," I told him. "Looks like a Maple. I hear they taste like chicken.""

Queen snickered a little at that. "Some blunder." she remarked.

"I also remember some more stories, but I COULD always just pull out an embarrassing story about someone," Ray mused.

Jill shot a look back at him in shock. He wasn't talking about her, was he?

"Ooh, embarrassing stories?" Ripper hummed, tilting his head a little. "I like the sound of that, kekekeke!"

Jill shook her hands nervously, disagreeing to that.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, and you know it," chuckled Ray. "Besides, in most of them you were little. You didn't know any better at those times."

"...well, as long as it's not _too_ embarassing, I suppose a few stories like that couldn't hurt." Sage chuckled. "Lord knows that King has embarassed us more than once as well."

"Oh- name one time I did that!" King sputtered.

"I would, but then I'd embarass myself." Sage chuckled.

"Well, I'd have to pick one that isn't too bad…" Ray murmured, rubbing his chin. "…oh! The Raid of the Munchkins is a good one."

Jill shot her father another shocked look; this time, turning beat red.

"…dare I ask?" Hunter muttered.

"Oh, if you have a sense of humor, you'd find it the cutest thing ever," Ray chuckled. "Then again, most of the villagers didn't _have _a sense of humor was the thing; ESPECIALLY the Elders."

"Well, we all have our senses of humor at the ready." King nodded. "So lay it on us, Ray!"

"Everything was pretty nice and calm in the village," Ray started, "but little did I know that my daughter was cooking up something quite mischievous that day with most of the boys that were her age at the time; I think she was maybe 3 or 4?"

"That young, huh?" Miser hummed, tilting her head a little.

"Suddenly, here comes Jillian running out of the brush, naked as a jay bird and painted green so she could blend into the brush," Ray continued, making Jill steam a bright red color out of embarrassment.

Hunter burst out laughing. "She did WHAT?"

"I'm not kidding!" Ray laughed as well. "Behind her she's got a band of boys all running; THEY'RE all naked as jay birds and painted green, and when some of the villagers saw them coming, it scared them enough to send them running as well. So I was called back from a hunt along with most of my men to discover that our village was overtaken by a band of naked children."

"PFFFT!" It was hard for the GUN veterans to keep from snickering at that; though they kept listening to what Ray would continue with. Jill's entire face flushed, and she wanted to leave the room at that moment it was so embarrassing.

"I found it to be absolutely hysterical, but sadly, the Elders weren't as amused. They gave me an earful about how improper it was for my daughter to run around like a heathen along with all those children like that. They insisted that attacks on the village are not anything to joke about. I merely told them that they were children being children, and pointed out that Jillian was actually quite a smart girl for her age. After all, she was able to gather the boys together into a team and lead them onto a battlefield of sorts, and they understood the concept of good tactics for such an early age!"

"But once again, the Elders weren't amused in the slightest," Ray said, shrugging his shoulders. "So of course, I took Jillian home to get her cleaned up and to tell her that it was wrong to do that… but I was always impressed with how she put together something elaborate when she was so young."

King kept snickering, nodding a little. "Honestly, that sorta tactic would be good just to startle the opposition!" he noted.

Sage just chuckled a little. _Hey, if it's any consolation, some of us have done _a lot_ more embarrassing things than that,_ she said in Jill's head.

That got Jill to look back at Sage curiously.

"Better watch out Jill; Joy might go through a phase like that," Hunter snickered.

Jill just stuck out her tongue at him.

"That would be quite a sight, though." Queen pointed out.

"I know it's something Ani would do, that's for sure," Hunter remarked.

"HEY!" Ani yelped defensively, turning red herself. The others just laughed at that.

After a short while, Sonia happened to glance towards the floor... and she blinked. "...hey... where did Joy go?"

"…what?" Hunter blinked, and looked. She was right; Joy wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Jill grew worried and looked around. Everyone began looking around, wondering where she had gone; aside from Sage, of course.

Now Jill looked all over frantically, wondering where Joy went, and then her eyes caught something by the tree. When she looked, she froze. The rest of them did when they saw who was standing in front of the Christmas tree.

Joy was staring at all the pretty things that were on the tree, but when it got silent, she turned her head and looked back at all of them. "…Ta!" she pointed up to the tree and waved her finger at it. "Ta!"

"…she's standing…" Ray muttered.

"...whoa." King uttered, tilting his head.

"...well, isn't that something else." Sage remarked with a smile.

Jill went to kneel on the floor a few feet away from Joy. Then she held out her arms to her. _…come on Joy,_ she thought. _…show me…_

Joy looked back at her mother and smiled with a giggle, putting one foot forward. When Jill saw that, her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed. Joy toddled closer and closer to her, until she was able to put her hands on her mommy's face again, and she giggled some more.

…_she did it…_ Jill thought, hugging her closely. _…she walked._

Ray smiled faintly, and sat back in his seat. "…now I really do feel old," he muttered. "…I just saw my granddaughter take her first few steps…"

Ani smiled too. "…I gotta say, that's one of the best Christmas gifts we've gotten."

"Amen to that." Sonia said with a smile. In fact, just about everyone was smiling at that sight.

…_I couldn't agree more,_ Jill thought, feeling a small tear of happiness roll down her face.

Then there was a knock at the door, stealing the moment.

Sonia hummed. "...it's open." she called.

The door opened, and soon, into the living room walked in the big group of hounds. "Howdy," Cowpoke greeted, tipping his hat.

"Nice to see ya." Rott greeted as well.

Merde regarded them a simple nod. "...hey."

"...well, guess we got some more guests around." Queen hummed.

"Kekekeke! Remember to close the door after you!" Ripper pointed out. "No good if we catch a cold!"

The door closed at that, and Smokey walked in along with them. Joy say all of them and started giggling, and toddling toward Cowpoke.

"Well look at you," Cowpoke chuckled, whisking Joy up when she got to him. "You're such a big girl, aren't you, pumpkin?" When Joy giggled at that, he chuckled too. Then Joy pointed up and when Cowpoke looked up at the ceiling, he chuckled some more. "Well look at that; mistletoe."

With that, he gave Joy a kiss on the forehead. "There you go, sweetheart," and he set her back down on the floor.

Jill stared when Cowpoke did that. In her head, she saw some flashes of Brick kissing Joy on the forehead, and calling her "pumpkin" and "sweetheart." It could've been wishful thinking, which probably explained the slightly wistful feeling she had.

"...well, don't just stand around; come on, take a seat." Sonia said with a smile. "There's room for all of you!"

"Thanks," Mud-Pie said, going ahead and taking his seat next to the Christmas tree. "Wow! You've got a pretty looking Christmas tree!"

"Ta! Ta!" Joy spoke, crawling hurriedly to where Mud-Pie was.

"Of course! It's gotta be fancy for the holidays!" King said with a grin.

"It took a while, make no mistake about that." Queen remarked.

"I'm sure it did," Cowpoke chuckled, taking the seat that was closest to Jill; she was still trying to get over what flashed through her head earlier, and she looked at Cowpoke. When he smiled at her, she actually smiled back.

That…almost relieved Cowpoke a little; Jill could notice it, but once again, she wasn't sure why.

"Alright; does anyone else have a story to tell?" King hummed, glancing around.

"I COULD tell you how Mud-Pie got his name," Cowpoke chuckled.

"No! Not that one, Dad!" Mud-Pie yelped.

"Why not? We've started telling all the embarrassing stories," Ray remarked, chuckling.

"It's not like we're going to judge you for it." Miser pointed out.

"No; we're just gonna snicker and laugh about it, like we do whenever we hear any embarrassing stories." Sonia said with a grin.

So Cowpoke started telling the story about how his wife at the time, Petunia, was going to give birth to their son, and Jill didn't mean to be rude, but she started to tune out of that story.

Jill looked at the tree, thinking how alien it was to have Christmas here with King and his friends. What was Christmas like with the Professor and the boys? For Charmy and his units in GUN?

…for Metal?

She looked back at Joy, seeing her stand back up with some support of a nearby chair and she walked back to the tree, looking up at it with bright, wide eyes. Cowpoke was right… she was getting to be a bigger girl. Soon she would say more proper words and start forming sentences, and maybe even...

Jill cut off her thoughts there. She was going off of how she was raised, and was suddenly startled to think about teaching Joy archery, and how to play the violin, and how to survive in the wild, among other things that her father started teaching her. Sure, she would have to start teaching Joy how to defend herself…because sooner or later, something will happen and Joy might not have any help to defend herself…

All the things in her past, she knew would come haunt her one day…and if she wasn't prepared to teach Joy anything before then, it might turn into another tragic loss for Jill.

_...you feeling alright?_ Sage hummed in Jill's head.

…_I'm not prepared to take care of Joy by myself, _Jill concluded. _…all those times that we were ambushed by someone since we came here…I haven't been able to defend myself or my daughter with my own power alone…_ she actually felt fairly depressed at the thought of it.

_...I see..._ Sage hummed. _...well, you have our support, at least, Jill... I'm not sure if it'll help in the long run, but if you ever need something, we'll be there to help out._

…_I appreciate your help and all their help…I really do, _Jill thought. _…but… the more you help me, or defend me…the more I feel like I'm just a burden, because ever since I lost my powers, I haven't been able to fight anyone else… without my powers, I'm completely useless…_

_...oh, don't say things like that. You're not useless, Jill. _Sage sighed.

…_but I feel useless…_ Jill thought. _…that's why…I want to join the training program with the soldiers._

Sage blinked a little. _...you're... sure?_ she hummed.

…_I've been thinking about it since the summer I came here,_ Jill thought. _…I'm sure._

_...I see._ Sage hummed. _Alright. I'll bring this up to King a bit later... for now, let's put those dreary thoughts aside, and just enjoy the evening. Alright?_

Jill heard laughter from everyone else and assumed that Cowpoke must have finished his story. _…alright…I'll do that, _Jill thought, smiling a little bit.

_Good._ Sage thought, as she chuckled a bit.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the party had to come to an end. Hunter and King had gotten drunk once again and went outside to have a brawl like the 'good old days.' Of course, all the rest of them just let him have at it, but once it was getting late, they went out to see if they were still at it. They all discovered that both of them passed out in the middle of it, so Ani and Sage took Hunter back to the pub while Queen, Miser and Ripper took King back. That left Sonia, Ray, Cowpoke and his buddies, and Jill and Joy.<p>

Joy fell fast asleep and Mud-Pie was starting to, so Jill put Joy to bed and Cowpoke took Mud-Pie and handed him to Smokey. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up," he told them.

"Right." Merde nodded.

"See you back at the barracks." Rott hummed, before the hounds began walking off.

"See you tomorrow!" Sonia called to them, waving them goodbye.

Jill looked curiously at Cowpoke. "I figured I could at least help clean things up a little before I left," Cowpoke offered.

"Well, that's generous of you Cowpoke," Ray said.

"It really is." Sonia nodded. "Let's go get things cleaned up, already!"

To be honest, there wasn't really much of a mess to clean up. There were mostly dishes of food everywhere and cups and bottles from drinks. Jill helped with dishes and the others wrapped up the food and stored it away in the fridge for leftovers.

It wasn't long at all until it was nice and clean.

"There we go; good as new!" Sonia hummed, rubbing her hands a little. "Thanks for the help, Cowpoke; it's really appreciated!"

"You're welcome," Cowpoke said with a nod. "If that's all done, then I should probably head out too." And he was going to turn out the door to leave.

That was when Jill came out from the kitchen from finishing the dishes, and stopped Cowpoke with a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at her with an intrigued look. "What is it?"

Jill held up a finger for him to wait a minute, and she ran into the guest room. Sonia hummed, glancing after Jill.

Jill came back out, and she had a folded quilt in her arms, walking back to Cowpoke. "What's this?" Cowpoke asked curiously, only to find a written note on the folded quilt.

_You mentioned that the barracks got pretty cold for Mud-Pie, so I made a quilt for him. Think of it as a Christmas gift from me,_ it read.

"…a gift for Mud-Pie, eh?" Cowpoke chuckled. "…thanks…that's very kind of you." And he took the quilt from her arms.

Just then, Sonia let out a surprised gasp. "Guys... mistletoe!"

Both their eyes widened, and shot up. Cowpoke had almost forgotten that there was mistletoe there, and now he was standing under it again…with Jill.

"Well now," Ray chuckled at the sight of this. It was entertaining to see how shy Jill suddenly became, and how red in the face Cowpoke got. Sonia kept quiet, though she had a huge grin on her face; she wanted to see where this would go.

Neither of them knew which to take the initiative on this; Cowpoke or Jill. They both stared at each other in embarrassment for a while.

Finally, someone moved. Jill was the one to lean forward, and Cowpoke's heart nearly skipped a beat, because he didn't expect her to move first… the most she did was give him a kiss on the cheek, because Jill knew she never would've been comfortable with any other form of it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because that was enough to turn Cowpoke even redder.

Still, this was enough to make Sonia giggle a bit. Ray chuckled a bit as well. Cowpoke finally tried to clear his throat but he still stumbled over his words, "Well, I-um… I should get uh, going here…thanks fer invitin' me, you know and uh…"

Jill, admittedly, found this a bit amusing and she smiled. Then she nodded to him in response.

Cowpoke smiled a bit sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "See ya…" and he was out the door.

When he was gone, Sonia just shook her head. "Anything related to Joy aside, that might've been the most adorable thing I've seen all day." she remarked.

"Boy, he sure turned red," Ray chuckled.

"I know!" Sonia giggled.

Jill would chuckle too if she could, but now that she thought about it, she was actually pretty tired. She took up the notepad from her pocket and wrote a note for Sonia. _I think I'll tuck in early, _she wrote.

Sonia nodded. "You do that." she said. "Me... I think I'll take a stroll for the night before I come back and call it a night."

"You don't mind if I join you, do you Sonia?" Ray asked, standing up.

"Not at all!" Sonia said with a smile. "I'd appreciate the company."

Jill nodded, and Ray came to hug her with one arm. "Good night," Ray told her, letting her go to the guest room so that him and Sonia could head outside.

As they walked, Sonia just looked up at the sky. "...I really like snow, I gotta say." she hummed. "Say, how are the winters over in your village?"

"The snow is more inches higher than it is here," Ray chuckled. "After all, you're all just at the water level, and the village is up in the mountains."

"Ooh, that sounds neat." Sonia hummed, before she glanced ahead of her. "...hey... just a fair warning, but I may ask about things that _might_ be kinda uncomfortable to talk about. If you feel that I'm pushing it, just tell me, and I'll stop."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ray replied. Then he looked at her curiously. "What would you like to ask?"

"Well... about Jill." she began, looking at Ray. "How was she, growing up?"

"Ah…so you were wondering that, huh?" Ray said. "…it was tough, to say the least. There was a lot of discrimination against her from a lot of the villagers. When she was young, she couldn't tell, so she was very independent and strong… but the more she realized how people saw her, the more hurt she felt. She tried to hide it and be strong…but I knew that her self-esteem was going away little by little because of what the villagers would say about her…"

"...ah..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little.

"…but… at least she's gotten better now," Ray said. "It seems like her time here has helped a little bit…"

"...right..." Sonia hummed. "...when she left... was it tough?"

"…very…" Ray murmured. "…I lived for almost a year…wondering if she was alright or not…at some point, I was convinced that she was even dead, and it was all about a battle of keeping myself from becoming bitter…"

"...must've been tough." Sonia remarked, rubbing her arm a little.

"…but it didn't remain that way forever…" Ray spoke. "…something suddenly dropped into the village one evening…something that changed that. What fell in our village one evening was a shining, purple jewel…"

Sonia blinked at that. "...a purple jewel... you mean... a Chaos Emerald?" she assumed.

"Yes…" Ray replied. "…that's what they called it; the group that came to retrieve it a few days later…"

Sonia hummed. "...what group was it?"

"…Most of them were children," Ray chuckled, "and some of them were robots. I don't recall if they told me why they wanted the emerald at the time, but they knew my daughter… and they told me that she had become a fine warrior."

"...really?" Sonia hummed. "...so... they were friends of Jill?"

"Yes," Ray replied. "…in fact…I believe at that time, they were fighting…" and Ray cut off, realizing how much he said already.

Sonia blinked. "...fighting... what?" she inquired.

"…I'm not sure if I'm at liberty to say," Ray replied. "It depends on how much my daughter told you…"

"...well..." Humming, Sonia rubbed her chin. "...I'm... _tempted_ to say Metal Sonic, but... I'm not really sure if that's the case..."

"…hm…" Ray looked away from her while they walked a little while.

"…actually… you're right."

Blinking, Sonia looked at Ray with a tilted head. "...so she _did_ fight against Metal Sonic." she uttered.

"…yes," Ray said. "…she and her friends teamed up to fight Metal Sonic on the behalf of Captain Charmy, Professor Miles "Tails" Prower…and Shadow the Hedgehog, who died in battle."

"...yeah; the news talked about how Shadow died while stopping Metal's plans..." Sonia noted, before she folded her arms. "...but it wasn't Shadow who stopped Metal, was it?"

"…no, it was my daughter…" Ray replied. "…but GUN told the public that it was Shadow, because my daughter is deathly afraid of people sometimes…she would never have been able to handle the publicity if they ever found out it was her…after all, she told me once that Sonic the Hedgehog made being a hero look so fun, when it really wasn't…she's had to make heavy sacrifices throughout her entire life…"

"...right..." Sonia nodded, folding her arms with a small nod.

"…but, it wasn't that way for long," Ray continued. "…eventually, Metal Sonic had to make a truce with my daughter…because they would have to combat an evil that was much greater than the metallix and his rising empire."

"...what?" Sonia blinked, recalling the conversation she had with Hunter many months ago. "...something more evil than something Doctor Eggman built?"

"…such a thing indeed exists…" Ray murmured. "…or in this case, such a person does…" His look darkened considerably after he said that.

Sonia blinked. "...what... person could be like that?"

"…a man with dark powers," Ray replied. "…a man that I would wish my worst enemies never to meet…"

Sonia actually shuddered a bit at that, "...geez... that bad, huh?"

"…if you knew, you would truly understand…" Ray replied. "…that man is what makes my daughter shudder in her nightmares…that man is the reason that she is the way she is…"

"...so... Metal Sonic _didn't_ make her that way...?" Sonia uttered; her eyes widening. "...man... that's heavy."

"…Metal Sonic didn't do anything to her…" Ray replied in agreement. "…on the contrary…my daughter did something for him…believe it or not Sonia, my daughter had powers too, long ago…because of those powers from her and that man, it slowly changed him from the machine that he used to be in his days..."

Sonia blinked, as she recalled what Hunter had told her...

_"…mysterious powers… and the compassion of a friend."_

"...just... _how_ did he change?" Sonia inquired, tilting her head again.

"…all I can say, is that Metal Sonic is in hiding…because he still fights that man with the dark powers, to keep him away from the rest of the world," Ray spoke. "…so in the end, my daughter really changed him after all…if Metal Sonic had taken that sacrifice for her…"

"...whoa," Sonia uttered with wide eyes. "...that's... really hard to believe..."

"…there's so much that happened that the whole public doesn't know, Sonia," Ray told her, looking at her with sincere eyes. "…and most of it, I'm sure that they all would find really hard to believe…"

"...amen to that," Sonia nodded, folding her arms. "...we should probably keep quiet about this, though; there's no telling who could want to pester Jill about it."

"…with the soldiers here that I've heard about, I would believe you on that matter," Ray spoke.

"...right." Sonia nodded. "So... let's keep it hush-hush, alright?" she added, with a small smile, "For Jill and Joy's sake."

"Right," Ray said, nodding.

"Right," Sonia affirmed, before she let out a yawn. "...man... I feel tired. Feel like calling it a night?"

"Yes," Ray chuckled. "I've found that I've actually been getting tired more easily with this cursed old age of mine…"

"...well, don't sweat it too much; stress just makes you even more tired." Sonia pointed out with a chuckle.

"Of course," Ray agreed.

While they were walking away, a figure slipped away into the shadows without being detected whatsoever. When he was far enough away from their earshot, he rushed as quickly as possible through the snow fall and the woods.

"…it's gold!" he chuckled; "it's pure gold's worth of information! Who knew?" and he laughed all the way through the woods…

* * *

><p>He made it to his fort in the old abandoned GUN office, and Raider sat in his chair with a spin, still laughing. "Oh, what juicy information!" he laughed. "I can just call it my own little Christmas gift for the holiday!"<p>

Hurriedly, he logged onto his computer and started typing. "Now all I have to do is keep watch for any documents on this, and I can add to it…"

And suddenly, the computer screen blacked out.

"Wah?" Raider jumped at that, and then he growled, hissing. "Damn piece of junk…" and he impatiently pressed the on/off button. "C'mon you stupid thing…"

However, no matter how much he kept pressing it, all it did was make the screen flicker. "…the hell?" Raider growled, "…if I find out somebody's been messing around with my computers…"

Finally, the screen stopped flickering, and let Raider see that a document was open... and then, something began typing on the screen.

_You know, this has got to be the most pathetic Christmas celebration I've ever seen._

"…huh?" Raider blinked at that, not really sure how to respond now. He wasn't angry anymore…that was for sure.

_I mean; is this all you do? Just sit alone in this dump and write about anyone you find interesting? Geez, and I thought _I_ had it bad..._

At that point, the mouse cursor actually began moving on its own.

_...so, what embarrassing files do we have here? Eeney meeney miney mo, catch a vouyer by the toe..._

Raider jumped up from his seat in shock, stepping away from the computer while he stared at it wide-eyed.

_Ooh, what do we have here? Shall we have a look?_ And instantly, a folder of images popped up. _Now what have you been up to? That's not very nice, you know..._

"HEY!" Raider yelled. "Look, I don't know if you're just a hacker, or something, but all of that is MY blackmail!"

_Blackmail, eh? That's something _I_ would've scoffed at. Well, off to the bin with you! _And instantly, the entire folder was deleted. _Onto the next one! _And yet another folder opened up. _...hey, now... this brings back memories..._ With that, the images were enlarged, with whoever was in control of the computer scrolling through them.

"HEY!" Raider jumped forward and grabbed the computer. "Don't you dare delete my files!" But he also wondered how this entity actually heard him. Did this hacker have a camera set up in his office too?

"…wait…this is King's and the other's files," Raider suddenly took a look at some of the images and recognized them.

_Now how did you get these? Probably gotten from that deceased colonel's personal files..._

At that point, the images stopped scrolling, when they came across an image of a deceased lion with a large hole through his chest and a scar across his forehead, being surrounded by several GUN agents in contamination suits...

...and suddenly, the dead lion's face shot Raider a smug grin. _"...hello... Raider."_

"AGH!" Raider jumped back again, this time out of fear.

_"What? You've never seen the dead talk back to you?"_ the lion chuckled; even though he was still motionless in the image.

"Who the hell are you?" screamed Raider, growing furious now. Mostly, anger was a way to cover up how freaked out he was right now…

Suddenly, the lion's smirk turned into a scowl. _"...I'm your worst nightmare, if you ever decide to fuck with her again." _he snarled.

"…with who?" Raider uttered, gritting his teeth.

_"You know damn well who the fuck I'm talking about, you damn stalker." _the lion kept growling. _"So you better keep yourself under control; otherwise, I'm gonna show you just how fearsome a Leoniel can be."_

"…a Leoniel…"

Raider's eyes suddenly widened.

"…no…it can't be…" he uttered. "…but…but he's dead…you can't be…"

_"...I died at least thrice, and I'm still around. Big shocker, huh?"_ the lion huffed, before his eyes suddenly began glowing red. _"Now, are you gonna be nice... or am I gonna have to get serious?"_

Just as he said that, the entire area around him on the image suddenly burst into flames, and hellish wails suddenly erupted from the computer. Raider yelped and started growing even more scared at what was going on, shuddering and looking frantic.

_**"...so, are you gonna be nice... or naughty?"**_ the lion now chuckled in a demonic voice, as eerie music and disturbing imagery began flashing rapidly on Raider's screen.

"No! You're not alive! This is just an illusion!" Raider screamed, shutting his eyes and trying to ignore what was going on.

_**"...is it?"**_ the lion chuckled. _**"Would an illusion be able to do this?"**_

Suddenly, a spark shot out from the computer console, which struck another computer nearby; frying it instantly. Raider eye's shot open and he yelped helplessly at that.

_**"Now, answer me, Raider... are you gonna be nice, or naughty?"**_

"Okay! OKAY! I'll leave her alone!" Raider yelped. "But why the hell would a ghost like you care about her? You didn't care about _anyone_!"

_**"...I care about one person... and she happens to be staying inside of her for the moment," **_the lion huffed, as another spark suddenly shot from the computer console.

Raider shot a look of surprise at the lion. "…what do you mean…?"

_**"...you just keep yourself in line; if I find out that you hurt Callous in any way, you're a dead man," **_the lion uttered... before he chuckled. _**"Until then... MERRY CHRISTMAS, MOTHERFUCKER!"**_

With that, the lion let out a maniacal cackle, before the computer monitor literally blew up. Raider dove to the ground in a panic, holding his hands over his head with another scream.

Eventually, the laughter began fading into the air, before it was nothing more than an echo in the empty halls of the facility.

Raider eventually uncovered his head and looked back up at his computer. All of it was totally destroyed; shattered glass and wires everywhere and smoke rising out from the broken monitors. All that data was lost now…

When he stood up, he tried to believe what he just saw… could that really have been _him_?

…and who's Callous?

Raider tried to think long and hard.

Those red eyes… those red eyes that he saw when she burst into his lab months ago and stole away Sonia's blackmail…she stopped a punch without even looking at him, and he saw how she tore apart the GUN robots. Needless to say, that was pretty bad ass…

…that wouldn't be like Jill at all. Not for a mother of a little girl like Joy…

"…I wonder if that rumor about what Will saw was true…" Raider murmured. "…that witch…maybe that's who Callous is…" but that still didn't explain why a dark figure from King and the group's past would know of something like that…or have anything to do with Jill…

He stared at the computers a bit longer after that.

"…maybe I need a break," he uttered, leaving the room hurriedly, in case anything that paranormal wanted to reoccur. "After all, I could use some working out to get back into shape…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ooooh! Big bad Johnny scared mean old Raider! XD<em>**


	5. Chapter 5

_One Month Later…_

* * *

><p>Reluctant King and his group was about the idea, they eventually allowed Jill to be in the training program. They set everything up so that she would be able to join easily enough. Though since it was in the middle of the whole training program, that would mean that Jill would have to catch up a bit, but her experiences were enough to suffice for that…<p>

…including that little bit of Metal's training that she remembered from years ago.

In fact, thinking about the training program only reminded her so much of that week that she spent with Metal Sonic, training to fight Callous and Johnny. Jill remembered how much Metal had changed since they started it… to her death at her own hands to save him.

…_Metal... _she thought wistfully.

…he was still there in Metropolis…with Deity…

…thinking about all that just made her miserable. All these years, and Jill still couldn't believe that Metal took that burden…does Metal even realize what those horrible things did to her? She still had trouble sleeping had night because of that vampire…

…just what could of horrors could Metal be subjected to, right now?

"...hey, Jill?" At that point, Sonia walked up to her. "You feeling alright?"

Jill jumped a little bit, but since it was Sonia, she relaxed. _…just got lost in thought, _she wrote.

"Right..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little. "...you getting ready for the training?"

Jill nodded.

"Right..." Sonia hummed. "...well... maybe before the training begins... have you considered cutting your hair?"

Jill blinked, and looked at her hair. She hadn't cut it for a long time; even when it was long as a teenager. It sure was pretty long…she never even thought of the idea of cutting her hair…

"It could be a thought; and it might help you out during training as well." Sonia said, before she snapped her fingers. "In fact... I'll help you out with that! You won't mind, right?"

Jill shrugged and then smiled at Sonia. _Sure, why not?_ She wrote.

"Great!" Sonia laughed. "Just give me a sec, and I'll get some scissors and a towel! You just take a seat!" With that, she hurried off.

Jill watched Sonia run off with some curiosity, and like she said, she took a seat.

After a short while, Sonia came back, with a pair of scissors and a towel. "Alright; just sit still, and don't fidget too much..." she said, before she wrapped the towel around Jill.

_This is going to be interesting…_ Jill thought.

"Alright... I haven't done this in a while, so bear with me..." Sonia hummed, before she began cutting Jill's hair; making sure not to work too quickly.

Jill stood as still as she could, glancing out of the corner of her eye to watch what Sonia was doing. She currently had a much focused expression, as she made precise cuts with the scissor, making sure that it looked even.

* * *

><p>It took a short while, before Sonia eventually nodded. "Done!" she said, before she handed Jill a mirror. "How does it look?"<p>

Jill took a long look. It certainly was shorter; _much_ shorter. Sonia styled it in a way that her hair curved in, and stuck out at the end. It was actually a fairly decent haircut, and it made Jill smile at it. She turned back to Sonia and gave her a thumbs-up for it.

"...you really like it?" Sonia said with a huge smile, before nodding. "Glad that you like it!"

There was a series of giggles and Joy toddled into the room. When Jill saw her, her eyes widened in surprise. Joy held up a pair of scissors as well, and in her other hand was a handful of brown hair. Joy's hair was a complete mess now, being totally uneven and hair sticking out of random places.

"...ooh." Sonia said in a slightly surprised tone. "...when did she get a hold of those?" she uttered.

"Dababa gaga!" Joy spoke, giggling some more.

Jill took the scissors from Joy's hands and Joy started to whine because of it. Jill also shook her finger, trying to tell Joy it was a no-no.

"Hoo..." Sonia sighed, rubbing her neck. "...that's gonna take a while to grow out, again." she commented.

"Mama! Mama!" Joy continued to whine, and Jill sighed. She scooped up Joy, making her whine and squirm a bit more, and they sat down in the rocking chair. Once Jill started rocking back and forth in it, Joy instantly stopped squirming. In fact, she started to calm down.

"...hey, you want me to try and make it look a bit more presentable while you're off training?" Sonia offered.

Jill shrugged, and nodded a little. She didn't have to, but Jill would appreciate it.

"Mama no gaga Sonia baba…" Joy muttered.

Jill stopped in the rocking chair and looked at Joy. Sonia blinked as well, her eyes widening slightly. "...did... did she just... say my name...?"

Jill looked back at Sonia, and then at Joy.

"...that... _is adorable!_" Sonia eventually just squealed, looking fairly giddy. "Can you say it again, Joy?"

"Baba gaga?" Joy asked, looking curiously at Sonia.

"No, no, my name!" Sonia said. "S-o-n-i-a." she spelled out. "Can you say it?"

"Togaba?" Joy put her hand on her mouth and tried to think. "…Sonia!"

"_Yes!_" Sonia squealed again. "That's just _so cute!_"

"Yes!" Joy put her hands up and giggled. "Yes yes yes yes!"

Jill would've giggled if she could. This really was adorable…

After giggling for a while, Sonia just let out a breath. "That's just so cute..." she hummed... before she snapped her fingers. "Oh! I just remembered something! Give me a sec..." Then, she headed out.

Jill sat there with Joy. "Baba!" Joy called for Sonia, wondering where she was going…

After a while, Sonia returned with a pair of wrapped-up presents; one bigger than the other. "I know it's a little belated, but it just slipped my mind during the holidays." she said with a smile, handing the presents to Jill and Joy. "Go on; open them."

Jill looked at the gifts with interest, and watched Joy gawk at them in amazement. Jill showed Joy what to do, by tearing a small piece of the paper, and Joy grabbed onto it. She started to rip more and more wrapping paper off with squeals of laughter.

Sonia just smiled, as she folded her arms.

Joy looked curiously at what was in the box inside of this thing, but Jill smiled heartwarmingly and picked it up. It was a cute little dress for Joy.

Sonia smiled as well. "Open the other one, too."

Jill started ripping up the wrapping paper on the other one; Joy insisting that she help with more laughter. Then when Jill opened the box, her eyes widened a bit. She had some clothes here too.

Sonia tilted her head a little. "What do you think?"

Jill smiled when she looked through them. Joy started climbing off of Jill onto the floor and she toddled around the living room out of boredom, while Jill stood up and got a better look at these new clothes.

Still smiling, Sonia took a seat on the couch, as she kept looking at Jill.

Jill finally decided to go try them on, and she left the room for a bit. When she came back, she looked at herself, and stood before Sonia, wondering what she thought. Sonia smiled brightly. "They fit you really well, Jill!" she said.

Jill looked at herself. What she was wearing was a pair of grey jeans with a small strapless black top. Yeah, she thought it looked good too. They seemed to fit comfortably and all…

…and yet, she thought something was missing.

"...so, what do you think?" Sonia hummed.

An idea popped into Jill's head then, and she held up a finger for Sonia to wait a minute while she left the room again. Soon, she came right back out, and she held up something with her hands.

It was her favorite green jacket. It had to be hemmed shorter than it used to be since the lower edges had been ripped up beyond repair in the past.

Sonia hummed. "...well, let's see how that looks, then." she said, motioning for Jill to try the jacket on as well.

Jill slipped it on, and then she looked at herself again, with a smile. She liked it. "...that looks even better!" Sonia said with a smile.

Jill went over and hugged Sonia as thanks for the gifts.

Sonia chuckled a little, hugging Jill back. "I'm just glad that you like them, Jill." she said.

Now all Jill had to do was try and get Joy to try on that dress. She went to pick it up, and she started to look for Joy around the house. Joy rushed right by, toddling happily, and Jill scooped her up quickly, taking her by surprise. Then as quickly as possible, Jill tried to put the dress on her. Joy thought it was a game and she tried to squirm away from her mommy, giggling. Sonia giggled a bit, too.

At that point, the door opened, and someone walked into the cabin. "...well, here I am." Sage called, noticing what was going on. "...now that's just adorable." she mused with a smile.

Jill finally got the dress on her, and set Joy down to fasten the zipper on her back. Joy looked up to see Sage and she squealed. "Sa! Sa!"

"That's me." Sage hummed. "She actually managed to say Sonia's name? That's good."

"I know." Sonia nodded, before she stood up. "Alright, Joy; me and Jill are heading out, now. Sage is gonna look after you, okay?"

"Mama!" Joy suddenly clung to Jill, and felt afraid. "Mama! No no!"

_..this again?_ Jill held Joy and stroked the back of her head to reassure her.

"Doesn't seem like she wants you to leave," Sage commented.

Jill hugged Joy, and then let her go when she was sure that Joy wouldn't cling to her this time. It seemed like she understood a little bit, but Jill could definitely tell that Joy didn't want her to go. _…don't worry Joy, _Jill thought. _I know how you feel…_

Then she gave Sonia a nod, telling her she was ready to go.

Sonia nodded as well. "Right; let's go." she said, before she glanced at Sage. "You keep an eye on things, alright?"

"Of course." Sage said with a smile. "See you both later, then."

Jill nodded with a smile to Sage, and took one more look at Joy before she headed toward the door. Joy wanted to jump the gun and grab her mother again. "Mama!"

However, she slowly found that her feet wouldn't touch the ground, as Sage was carefully levitating her just a bit over the floor. "Now, now; your mama has to go out for a while." she said with a smile. "She'll be back later; don't you worry about that."

Joy looked at Sage in disdain, and by the time she looked back, Jill and Sonia were gone.

With that, Joy let out a few coughs, pouted her lips, and looked ready to cry.

"...oh, don't cry, Joy." Sage hummed, as she brought Joy over towards her. "I'm sure we can find something else to do in the meantime." As she said that, she sat down. "...too bad that you're so young; reading your mind would be a shock to you, wouldn't it?"

"Mama no no Mama no…" Joy whimpered.

"...don't worry; Mama's going to be fine." Sage said reassuringly, though she let out a mental sigh. _Good thing that I'm patient... learning to understand her might prove daunting._

* * *

><p>"…I still don't know why you want to do this Jill," Hunter said. "…but we have to warn you; you won't be able to get the special treatment or the help that we'd normally give you. In training, you'll be mostly on your own…"<p>

Jill nodded in understanding.

"Just remember this; above all else, don't panic. That's a rookie mistake." Sonia noted. "No matter what gets thrown in your way, if you panic, you'll fare a lot worse than if you didn't panic."

More memories of Metal's training flashed through Jill's mind, remembering his voice giving the same stern advice, and she nodded again.

"Alright, so the barracks are separated out between the men and women, for the sake of less chaos that way," Hunter began. "King and I are usually in charge of training the men and Queen and Miser are usually in charge of the women. Sometimes, Miser's pulled to help Ripper with something and so Sonia pitches in to help in her place. Sonia's told me about how rough some of the women are there, so you need to remember that anything they say to you, you shouldn't take personally…after all, some of the woman tend to be more sensitive about words and will start fights because of it."

"Just make sure whatever you get yourself into, you can handle," Hunter said.

Jill nodded, but she sort of felt like they were telling her so much. Sure, they worried about her, but once again, Jill felt slightly uncomfortable for that.

Eventually, they came to a fork in the pathway, and they stopped. "This is where I split from you two," Hunter said. "The men are to the right, and the women are to the left…"

Then he looked at them. "Oh yeah, one more thing," he said. "Usually about halfway through the year; pretty soon actually, we'll have the men face off against the women to see what progress they've made. I wanted to let you know so that you could figure out what you'll have to catch up on to get to where everyone else is…"

"...right. See you later then, Hunter." Sonia said with a nod, before she began walking down one path. "This way, Jill."

Jill followed her obediently.

"...you ready for this?" Sonia hummed, as she looked back at Jill.

Jill took a deep breath and nodded.

Then they came to the training grounds…

It was a big, open area in the middle of the forest, with different structures all around set up for the purpose of testing someone; ropes hanging from trees to swing, stumps for someone to hit against, a little arena for those to spar against each other, and in the distance there was even a complicated obstacle course set up…

All of the women here were rough and fierce looking…and so was their fighting. One woman knocked another out of the arena without any mercy…

...and in the middle of it all, a very familiar black bear observed the training with a cold look in her eyes, before her gaze fell upon Sonia and Jill. "...ah, there you are." she hummed.

"Good morning, Queen." Sonia said with a nod to the bear.

"...alright, give me a second; the girls have to learn her name, after all." Queen hummed, before she whistled very loudly, to get the attention of all the girls. "Alright; line up, all of you!"

All of the women stopped whatever they were doing, and immediately lined up.

Jill jumped a little bit, recognizing Ivory among the crowd of women that were training here.

"...good. I'd like to introduce you all to a new girl who'll be training with us from today." Queen said, motioning towards Jill. "This is Jillian Condit, or Jill for short. She's been on the island for a while, and has decided to catch up on the program along with you."

They all nodded to Jill silently, whether it was grudgingly or mutually respectfully. Jill nodded back.

"So is it true that she can't speak?" asked one of the women curiously.

Queen just sighed. "...yes. She can't speak." she murmured, before she turned to look at the gathered women. "Now remember; don't spend too time questioning newcomers. The time wasted on questioning could have been used to perfecting your training. You all got that, right?"

"Yes Queen!" they all spoke in response.

"...good." Queen hummed with a nod. "Alright, all of you; back to training!"

"...you just warm up, before you try any of the tougher exercises." Sonia said to Jill, before she walked towards Queen.

Jill nodded in reply, and looked around for what she could do while the women split up back to what they were doing. That was when Jill noticed something a bit cheerfully; they had an archery area…

…so she went straight to that, and picked up one of their bows to join a few other archers.

One of those archers, Jill would notice, happened to be the cougar that she almost had an unfortunate encounter with way back when she first came to Safe Haven. She shot Jill a brief look, before returning her attention to the target ahead of her.

Jill pulled the bowstring and released it effortlessly, making the arrow whistle while it flew. It made most of their eyes widen for that, and the fact that Jill hit a perfect bull's-eye.

"Wow…you shoot just like your father…"

Jill looked over, and saw a bird standing there, smiling at her. She had colorful feathers all around her, but they looked somewhat faded and she looked a bit weary, but seeing her smile seemed to make up for that.

"...feh." the cougar scoffed, before she pulled the bowstring, and shot her arrow at the target; hitting a bulls-eye as well.

"I assume that your father taught you how to shoot?" the bird asked Jill. She nodded, and shot another arrow that chopped through the first one; getting another bull's-eye.

"Incredible," marveled the bird.

"...hmph." With a low growl, the cougar suddenly strung _two_ arrows along the bowstring, before firing them; actually getting a bulls-eye with both of them.

Jill looked at that and became impressed.

"C'mon, you can do better than that, can't you?" the bird pestered Jill.

Jill blinked at her.

"...don't push your luck." the cougar scoffed, as she took out an arrow, and tossed it in the air. "You might break something. And I bet that noise machine you have at home wouldn't appreciate that." Then, when the arrow descended, she snatched it and fired; splitting the first arrow she had shot.

…noise machine?

That made Jill a little defensive suddenly, and she looked all around her surroundings, pinpointing certain objects around and following them with her eyes. She wanted to make sure that they would work…

The bird looked at Jill curiously… especially when Jill brought up the bow to shoot again, and she was facing the total opposite direction. "Wait!" the bird yelped in shock, right as Jill fired.

Her arrow shot through the air quickly, bouncing off the objects that she spotted throughout the training grounds. The cougar blinked, watching the arrow fly about.

Jill decided to shoot two more in different directions, and three arrows all ricocheted off of the objects, shooting past the women to narrowly miss them and catch their attention. They started to gather by the archery area, watching all three arrows come right back and hit three bull's-eyes on three different targets; one being the bird's target, the next being Jill's where she split another arrow, and the last being the cougar's that totally shattered the arrows she had.

"Holy cow!" yelped one of the women.

The cougar's eyes widened considerably at seeing that. "...what the fuck...?" she uttered, tilting her head.

After that, Jill glared at the cougar for that remark she made, and set the bow down to walk away.

"Looks like you just got served Trish," the bird chuckled.

"...shut your yap." Trish hissed, before she tossed her bow to the side; walking off somewhere else.

Jill looked around to see what else she could try…

"Hey."

Jill jumped and spun around to see Ivory standing there. "…wanna spar?" Ivory asked. When Jill grew nervous, Ivory shook her head. "Don't worry…Spiel made it clear that I wouldn't do anything like what I did before…It'll be a totally fair fight…" she said. Standing by her was Mia, who seemed somewhat disinterested in this.

Jill looked at the two of them cautiously…

…eventually she shook her head as no thanks, and walked away to go somewhere else, but when she turned to walk away, she ran into someone…someone really tall…and when she looked up, she got nervous. In front of her stood a large cow that shot Jill a condescending look; "So, we have a new hotshot around here, eh?" she scoffed.

"…Berta…" Ivory murmured, folding her arms.

Jill stepped back a little bit away from the cow that Ivory called Berta.

"What's wrong? Are we scared?" Berta scoffed, as she kept looking down at Jill.

"...oh, not this again..." Mai groaned, rubbing her temples.

Jill looked up at Berta, and shook her head. She wasn't afraid of her… but she could tell that this character meant trouble.

"Oh, so we got a tough one among us, eh?" Berta said with a wide grin, as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned down to glare Jill right in the eyes. "Or is it just an act? Why don'tcha go home and play with dolls before you get hurt?"

Now Jill glared at Berta and folded her arms like Ivory. She could take insults that were directed at her, just as long as she didn't say anything about her daughter like Trish did…

"H-Hey Berta! Take it easy!" that bird rushed over and stood between Jill and Berta. "She's just a newbie! Give her a chance to get used to things!"

"...always quick to befriend the weak ones, huh." Berta scoffed, shifting her gaze to the bird. "Well? You want a round in the ring, Stella?" she sneered.

The bird, Stella, jumped a little timidly. "Uh-w-well…"

Jill watched this, and one thought crossed her mind.

_You think that ol' Toaster would let someone get away with picking on them like that?_

Jill's eyes widened a little bit, and she found herself stepping right in front of Stella, looking Berta dead in the eye with a sharp look.

Berta raised an eyebrow. "...well, now; guess you got a backbone, after all." she said, before her eyes narrowed. "...I don't like that look you got in your eyes; it's like you want a piece of me," she huffed.

Stella backed away a bit, surprised at Jill. "Y-you need to be c-careful when challenging Berta…"

Jill just ignored her and kept staring back at Berta.

"...well? If you want something, out with it," Berta said, leaning closer to Jill again. "If not, you can just scram."

Jill kept looking at Berta. Eventually, her gaze looked toward the arena, and she nudged her head over there, looking back at Berta.

Ivory raised her brows a bit. "She's bold."

"...or very stupid," Mia commented.

"...so, you wanna fight, is that it?" Berta hummed, before chuckling. "Alright; you asked for it." With an arrogant smirk, she walked over to the arena.

Jill walked toward the arena too, but Stella grabbed her shoulder to try and stop her. "You shouldn't fight her!" she uttered. "She might not be like Spiel or Raider, but she's scary!" Jill only gave her a reassured smile and pulled her shoulder out of Stella's hold, continuing toward the arena.

When they got there, Berta turned to face Jill with a vicious grin. "I'll let you go first. It oughta be fair, before I crush you."

Jill knew that striking first was a bad idea, but it wasn't like there was any other way to start off the match, and Berta wasn't going to go. First, Jill pulled off her green jacket, and then she kicked off her boots to be bare-footed.

"…hm…" Ivory observed the thick callouses on Jill's feet. "…she's been around…"

Jill then took off in a very quick run, jumped, and threw a hard kick at Berta's abdomen.

As the kick connected, Berta stumbled back a little bit... but she just looked at Jill with that same grin. "Didn't hurt." she taunted.

Jill landed back on the ground again, and she threw her palm right into the same place, hoping that would do something.

However, Berta countered by just grabbing Jill's arm the moment she hit her, clamping down on her arm. "Come on; are you even trying?" she scoffed, before she tossed Jill back.

Jill slid across the ground, but she was able to land right back onto her feet, looking at Berta in surprise.

Cracking her neck, Berta grinned. "My turn." she said, before she ran right at Jill and grabbed her in a tight bear hug; squeezing her tightly in her grasp. Jill winced; this sure was tight, and if she didn't stop soon, she might break something.

However, Berta didn't stop there. With a yell, she suddenly bent backwards, slamming Jill down on the ground behind her.

Jill cringed some more. It really hurt…

"C-C'mon! Get up!" Stella uttered in panic.

While Jill was down, however, Berta quickly got on her, and grabbed her leg in a hold; twisting it just to cause Jill more pain. "Say uncle!" she laughed. Jill couldn't even talk, but it wasn't like she was going to stop anyway. It made Jill squirm and wince, trying to get out from underneath Berta.

However, the cow kept her pinned. With a smirk, she suddenly let go of the leg, before she turned and grabbed Jill's arms; pulling them back to bend her back considerably. Jill heard a crack or two from that this time, and her eyes widened. She had to do something or she wasn't going to be able to even train for a while.

_Aw, need some help?_

_No thanks…if I used you, then it would be cheating…_

_It's not necessarily cheating. It's surviving…_

_Callous, if I have to depend on you for my training then I'll never be able to defend Joy on my own…_

_Then prove to me how much you want to protect her. Right now, you're looking really pathetic, and that's going to make things worse for you than it already is. You think Joy can grow up with the fact that her mother's a wuss?_

Jill's eyes sharped and she was able to twist around quickly, prying free from Berta's grip and elbowing her in the stomach as hard as she could.

"OOF!" That knocked the air out of Berta, as she stumbled off Jill whilst clutching her stomach. "...so, you actually got some fight in you..." she remarked, smirking a bit. Jill got back up on her feet and twisted her upper body to make sure her back wasn't broken. Thankfully, it wasn't.

"...but all the fight you got isn't gonna help you one bit." Berta remarked, as she began walking towards Jill; cracking her neck as she did this.

Jill waited for her to come.

_Oh boy, if you could talk, I could tell her what a fat cow she is…_

_You'll break my concentration. Hush…_

When she got close enough, Berta suddenly rushed at Jill to do a clothesline against her neck. Jill slipped right underneath it and grabbed her arm to try and throw Berta.

Amazingly enough, Jill did get Berta in the air... for a few seconds, before she landed on her feet, shot Jill a smug smirk, before she returned the favor by tossing Jill aside. Jill landed on her feet again, skidding across the dust of the arena with her eyes on Berta.

With a small battle cry, Berta rushed right at Jill; just to try and ram her shoulder into the ewe. Jill stepped aside from that and threw her foot down to trip Berta. Berta, however, saw that coming, and actually let herself get tripped; just so she could aim a sweeping kick at Jill's legs. Jill got knocked right onto her back. While she was down, Berta quickly got on her feet, before she grabbed Jill and hoisted her up in the air; spinning her around to make her dizzy. Jill could do nothing but grow dizzier as she spun her.

Eventually, with a yell, Berta tossed Jill brutally against the ground, before slamming her shoulder down against Jill's back. Jill would've yelped out in pain if she could, but of course, she couldn't. When she was finally able to, she pushed herself back up off of the ground and stood up again, glaring back at Berta while she tried to catch her breath.

"Well, I'll give her one thing; she's lasting a lot longer than most newbies that tried to fight her," Ivory said; "but she's still not going to last very long against Berta."

"Don't say that!" yelped Stella.

"Well, it's what everyone's thinking." Mia commented.

With a grin, Berta folded her arms as she cracked her neck "You oughta give up now, before you get really hurt."

Jill still glared at Berta.

"Tell me something, Condit, if you could fight, then why didn't you defend your daughter that day instead of run away from us?" Ivory called.

Jill stopped in her tracks then.

She could feel something boiling inside of her, but she tried to keep it bottled up. She wasn't going to let anger get the best of her… but being who she was; Jill couldn't help but really be affected by that comment.

"I've seen what you did to Will," Ivory said. "Show us that scary, witchy side of you…if you even have one."

"...unless that was just an act." Mia commented.

_Aw, they want to see me. I feel so loved…_

_Shut it Callous…_

Jill just ran at Berta again to punch her; fury growing. Berta, however, just grabbed the punch with a smirk. "Weak." she taunted, before she began twisting Jill's arm in her grip.

Jill winced, shutting her eyes.

…_yeah…I think this has gone far enough._

_Callous, no!_

Jill's eyes shot open again, and she glanced up at Berta with piercing red eyes, flashing a devious smirk at her. Seeing this, Berta looked back at Jill with a bewildered stare.

Jill grabbed Berta's arm with her other hand, gripping tightly on it with the same kind of grip that she had… and then Jill yanked her forward and actually lifted her up with her arms. "WHAT?" Berta yelped as she was hoisted up.

Stella gawked at this with some slight fear while Ivory raised her eyebrows. Then Jill threw her down with magnificent force…

The ensuing crash actually shook the ground she slammed down on, and from the looks of it, the air was knocked out of the cow.

"...huh," Mia hummed at seeing that.

But Jill wasn't going to leave it at that. Still smirking, she ran and jumped into the air to throw down a harsh drop kick to Berta's stomach. Left with virtually no time to recover, Berta took that kick head-on; letting out a pained cry as it slammed into her.

With that, Jill kicked Berta to roll over, climbed onto Berta, and grabbed her leg like what Berta had done to her before, and she started to twist it around.

Berta clenched her teeth, as she shot a glare at Jill. "...the fuck are you playing at, you copycat?" she hissed.

Jill looked back at Berta with that smirk, not at all affected by what she said. Suddenly, she took an arm along with that leg, and shot her foot right into Berta's back to bend her in ways that she couldn't. Berta hissed, and one could actually hear bones crack.

Stella grew more afraid of this sight, especially when Jill grabbed the arm and threw Berta over her head again, down onto the ground once more.

Berta coughed, as she slowly tried getting on her feet from that. "...y-you..."

Jill headed toward Berta again with a menacing grin.

Then she stopped and grabbed her own head.

_No! I WON'T let you fight my battles for me!_

_But I was having fun! You can't expect me just to sit in your body and do nothing!_

_I intend to be able to protect myself and Joy without your help! I also intend to make sure that Joy never knows about you! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!_

_Fine… but don't come crying to me if you get your bones broken by this bitch…_

Jill opened her eyes again, and stepped away from Berta a bit, staring at her with green eyes. Ivory immediately noticed the change of behavior, but she didn't say anything.

Right now, Berta just shot her a fierce glare, as she slowly picked herself up, cracking her neck. "...damn... that actually hurts." she snarled, before she began advancing towards Jill. Jill tried to stand her ground, remembering that panicking was a rookie mistake; like Sonia said.

With a ferocious snarl, Berta suddenly ran right at Jill, to try and ram into her head-first. Jill decided that she would try and stop her instead of jumping out of the way…

Big mistake.

Jill was knocked back across the arena effortlessly, left with a powerful ache in her stomach because of it. She had a hard time trying to get back up from the ground after it…

However, Berta wasn't done with her yet. Rushing over to her, she picked up the ewe and grabbed her in a powerful grip; slowly crushing her in her grasp once more. Jill winced and wanted to cry out in pain, but she had no voice to do so.

_What was that about fighting your own battles?_

_Shut up Callous!_

"...this will end it!" Suddenly, Berta spun Jill around in her grip so her head was aimed right at the ground, before she suddenly dropped down to the ground; performing a pile driver on Jill.

Jill felt as if she no longer felt connected to the living world after that…that blow hit her really hard on the head enough that it tore open a scar and blood trickled down her head.

"NO! STOP IT!" screamed Stella.

"Quit screaming, you big baby," Ivory groaned.

"...you know just as well as we do that she wouldn't stop, anyway." Mai mused dryly.

With a scoff, Berta hoisted Jill up in the air, glaring at her. "...not so tough anymore, are ya?" she huffed.

Jill grit her teeth, and glared back at Berta with a dazed look. She was slowly losing it, but she fought to stay conscious.

"...you think you can get away with a stare like that?" Berta huffed, before she suddenly smacked Jill across the face. "Know your place!"

Stella gasped when Jill was slapped across the face, but the ewe just looked back at Berta with that same dirty look.

…_how tough are you really…when you pick on a defenseless person…?_ Jill thought in her head, glaring at Berta.

"...stop that!" Berta hissed; visibly losing her patience, as she smacked her again.

Jill found it harder to stay conscious from Berta doing that, but once again, she weakly moved her head back to glare at Berta.

Ivory watched this more closely with some interest. _Even if she can't fight, she's still visibly defying Berta,_ She thought.

"...you bitch!" Berta roared, before she began furiously smacking Jill over and over again. "Stop looking at me like that!"

Stella grew frightened and started to run to get Queen or Sonia's attention on this.

Meanwhile, Ivory kept watching Jill getting smacked around like that. _…I don't get it Condit, _she thought. _…you didn't even bother fighting me and my brother when we tried to take you and your kid. You just ran…and yet, you're stupid enough to stand up to Berta of all people…and even if you're getting your ass handed to you, you'll just keep on showing that you're not afraid of her…_

"...she's tough." Mia eventually commented; "Tougher than most of us."

Screaming, Berta slammed Jill against the ground, before she stomped down on her gut. "Go on; give me that look again! I _dare_ you! See what happens!"

Jill was very weak right now, and considering Berta stomped on her gut, she choked and couldn't breathe…she almost couldn't move her head.

…but as much as she could, she turned her head to just give Berta that same glare again, spitting out a little blood at the side. Whatever remained of Berta's patience shattered, as she grit her teeth considerably. "...you... little...!" she snarled, slowly lifting her foot so it hovered over Jill's head. "...I'll smash you!"

Just before she could do that, however, she was suddenly grabbed and pulled away from Jill by Queen, who effectively restrained the enraged cow in little time. "That's enough, Berta." the bear hummed; keeping her cool as Berta flailed about.

Stella and Sonia rushed to Jill's side, helping her off of the ground.

"Jill, just try and relax. We'll get you patched up..." Sonia said reassuringly to Jill.

"Let me at her!" Berta roared, lashing out at Jill. "No one insults me like that and gets away with it!"

"Unfortunately, she will." Queen growled, still keeping Berta in check.

"Oh God; I thought she was going to kill you!" Stella uttered. "Are you crazy?"

Jill made a gesture with a thumb and index finger, measuring that she might be just a little crazy.

"…just how could you let her beat you up like that?" Stella asked worriedly.

For that question, Jill couldn't answer. Her head just fell and she winced while they helped her away, limping. Ivory watched them pass by, and she even got some eye contact with Jill, since the ewe glanced at her when they passed by.

"...hm." Mai hummed, folding her arms. "Curious..."

"…well, we all know what happens when Berta's in a bad mood," Ivory spoke, looking back at the struggling cow in Queen's grip. "She'll make everyone's day hell today…and not many of us are going to like it very much…"

"...right..." Mia murmured, shaking her head.

* * *

><p>Jill was placed in a bed in the infirmary for the time being; having passed out from her injuries she sustained earlier. Thanks to their efforts, she was cleaned up and her wounds were dressed, leaving her to rest.<p>

"…she's okay, right?" Stella uttered.

"...she'll be fine." Sonia murmured. "It's a good thing that you came to us. Had you been a bit slower, Jill would've been a lot worse for wear."

Stella sighed with some relief, and then she looked at Jill in awe. "I…I've never seen a newbie just challenge Berta like that! No newbie's been able to fight her like that!"

"…She's far from a newbie, Stella…"

Stella jumped, looking to see Hunter enter the room.

"...oh, hi, Hunter," Sonia hummed, looking at the wolf. "How'd you hear about it so quickly?"

"Berta's yelling could be heard in the men's camp, and Queen gave me the lowdown," Hunter said. "King's just fine taking care of the training while I'm here…"

"…wait…what do you mean when you say that Jill's not a newbie?" Stella asked.

Hunter looked at Stella solemnly. "…she's no stranger to fighting, Stella…she's got the most experience than any of you in your training class."

Stella looked surprised. Then Hunter set a hand on her shoulder, "Just go ahead and head back to the training grounds, Stella. Leave taking care of Jill to us, alright?" That suggestion put Stella at some unease, looking at Sonia.

"...just go, Stella; we got this under control." Sonia said with a nod to Stella.

"…alright…" without further ado, Stella pulled away and left the room to head out.

The way she fought was very frightening and Stella saw very few people that could lift up Berta like that. For a few minutes, it almost looked like Jill became some kind of demon.

In all her life, she's never seen anything like it…except the horrors that Hex put her through. That rated up there, and she only just watched the girl fight Berta to get the feeling that there's something… otherworldly about her.

When she found herself in the middle of the woods, she stopped and realized that she was walking the wrong way entirely.

At that point, Stella would hear a familiar chuckle ring through the air.

Stella gasped and clutched to herself helplessly, shuddering. "…oh no…" she uttered.

Just then, something slimy covered her eyes. "Mmmh... guess who?" a female voice chuckled, as someone stood right behind her.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Stella shoved the slimy thing over her eyes away and stumbled away from whoever it was that was behind her. However, that led to her tripping, as that slimy thing now seemed to have wrapped around her legs as well.

"How ironic, that you'd come wandering back... and you were doing such a good job of being free, little slave," The one standing behind her was Hex, who just shook her head with a smirk.

Stella clawed at the snow to get away from her. "No! Please!"

Chuckling, Hex simply lashed her tentacles around Stella's limbs, slowly picking her off the snow, and bringing her up so Hex could look her in the eyes. "You know, I _have_ missed you. Our last night together before you fled was something else; wouldn't you agree?" she mused.

"…no…please…don't make me think of that night…" Stella uttered. "…please…"

"...why not?" Hex chuckled, trailing a finger against Stella's cheek. "Didn't you enjoy it? Not at all?"

Stella swallowed. "…I didn't enjoy it…not one bit," she uttered. "…I had nightmares about all the things you did to me…"

"Oh?" Hex chuckled. "But you came so fiercely... and the screams... mmmh, the _screams..._" With a laugh, Hex leaned closer to Stella. "...I think you enjoyed it a _little_, at the very least."

Stella shut her eyes and shook her head. "NO! I didn't like it AT ALL! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!"

"And why should I?" Hex hummed, as one tentacle slid up along Stella's waist. "My abode is not too far from here. Unless you have a good reason for me to leave you be; I think I'd like a second round with you."

"Th-They'll know that I'm missing and c-come look for m-m-me!" uttered Stella in fear at the thought of going back to that horrid place.

"...oh, Stella, you poor, naïve bird... _no one_ willingly comes to save my slaves." Hex chuckled, smirking deviously. "Mmmh... you'd better give me a good reason fast, because I can't control myself much longer."

"…don't, please! I-I can…I…" Stella was going to hate herself for this. "…I-I c-can be better use than that! I can get information for y-you! I can be a servant like Koopman; surely there's some use I can be than that! Anything but that! Please!"

Hex blinked, tilting her head a little. "...you... think you can gather information for me?" she hummed. "...mmmh... what do you have in mind?"

"…I-I…I don't know…" Stella uttered, trembling. "…would there…h-happen to be any information you want…?"

"...actually... yes," Hex hummed. "...I need to know as much as possible about four certain people; Cowpoke, Jill, Mud-Pie, and Joy." Then, she smirked, and stroked Stella's head with a tentacle. "In fact... if you gave me lots of that information... I could think of other ways to reward you that wouldn't involve pleasure and bliss... well, unless you'd _want_ such rewards."

"…n-no…not that…don't reward me with _that_, please…" Stella uttered. "…b-but as long as I get information on them, you'll l-leave me alone, r-right?"

"...why not?" Hex chuckled. "In fact... yes, that's a perfect reward." Then, she pressed her finger against Stella's forehead. "Whenever you give me good info about the four of them... you name me one person you cannot stand; someone you loathe with a passion... name any person and I shall see to it that they leave you alone as well..."

Stella shuddered a little bit. "…you would…do that…?"

"Of course; anything for my dear, little spy," Hex chuckled. "...think about it. Doesn't it sound nice to know that whoever had said or done anything horrid to you would never bother you again?"

Stella still shuddered a little bit. It didn't sound right at all, but she couldn't bear any more of Hex's sick tortures. That was the only reason she suggested something so underhanded in the first place.

"…y-you know…Berta…right H-Hex?" she uttered.

"...that bovine?" Hex hummed. "You want me to take care of her? Done." she chuckled. "In fact, name me everyone that you can't stand, and I shall deal with _all_ of them, as long as you keep feeding me information."

"N-No! I didn't mean take c-care of Berta," Stella uttered. "…I mean…Jill…fought her…today…"

Hex blinked. "...she... fought Berta, hm?" she hummed. "...how very curious." Then, she smirked. "Do go on, Stella."

"…at first…everyone made fun of Jill for being weak and being such a fake…" Stella uttered with another gulp. "…but…when Berta was going to let her have it, Jill changed… she turned into a demonic person…She a-actually lifted Berta off the ground and threw her down, and she started whopping Berta ten-fold what she was doing to Jill before…"

"...oh, really?" Hex hummed, rubbing her chin. "...how very curious..."

"…but…at some point she stopped herself, and that's when Berta started beating her up…" Stella uttered. "…she was losing patience because Jill kept giving her a dirty look and she was trying to put her in her place…but before she could kill her, Queen jumped in and stopped her…"

"...hm." Hex hummed. "Defiant and strong-willed... I like it." she eventually chuckled, before she patted Stella's head. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

Stella felt like a small part of her died on the inside, and she looked away from Hex.

"...oh, don't look like that," Hex said with a tsk, shaking her head. "Just say someone you want me to take care of, and then I'll let you go... then, you can report back to me in, oh, three days? Does that sound reasonable?"

"…Trish…" Stella uttered, feeling like the lowest being ever to exist. "…she…dumped her food on me yesterday and humiliated me in front of everyone…"

"...mmmh..." Hex hummed. "...do rest assured, Stella." she chuckled. "Just lead her close to my abode, and I'll take care of her." Then, she stepped away from Stella. "Off you go, then... remember, three days. Find out as much as you can about them in three days."

"…r-right…" Stella uttered.

"...alright; see you in three days." Hex chuckled, before she slithered off.

Stella was frozen where she was, watching Hex leaving and making sure that she was gone…

…before she fell to her knees and started falling apart in sobs.

* * *

><p>"…damn…lousy…pieces of junk…" Raider grumbled, scratching his head. He was still baffled over what happened during Christmas time, when the computers exploded… and how all that data went to waste…<p>

…at least he still had the files, which he checked to make sure weren't burned… but a lot more was stored on that computer, and some information was on that computer that wasn't in paper form in the files.

Raider only found it more frustrating and he shot up to his feet, heaving an angry sigh.

"...having problems?" a female voice called behind Raider.

Raider growled.

"…Hex… I told you to knock…"

"Oh, you know I never bother to listen to warnings." Hex chuckled, as she slithered up to Raider. "Still having technical difficulties?"

Raider glared at his busted computers. "…like you wouldn't believe," he huffed.

"Mmmh..." Humming, Hex stopped right by Raider, looking at the computers. "...guess I'll have to wait to ask you for a favor, then..."

"…what is it?" Raider groaned.

"...I need information about four people." Hex said, "Cowpoke, Jill, and their children."

"You know the rule Hex," Raider murmured. "…you have to provide me with new information if you want information in return…"

"...oh, really?" Hex hummed, as she placed a tentacle on Raider's shoulder. "...like the fact that Jill suddenly turned demonic and briefly wiped the floor with Berta?"

Raider's eyes widened and looked back at Hex. _…again, with that, _Raider thought. "…so she finally started training, is that it?" he mused. Then he chuckled. "Well…it looks like they took my advice after all."

"Seems like it." Hex chuckled. "And all throughout Berta's subsequent beatdown of her, Jill remained defiant in face of this bigger adversary. She wasn't afraid of her; not once." Chuckling, she stepped closer to Raider. "...doesn't that pique your curiosity?"

"It certainly does…" Raider murmured, rubbing his chin. _…more works of this Callous, or is that really Jill all the way?_ He wondered in thought. _…hell, she twisted my arm; not a lot of fighters can do that. _"…sounds like when it comes to fighting; she's been around the block then. She's no ordinary newbie…"

"Indeed." Hex nodded, before she turned so she stood right in front of Raider. "She obviously must have fought before coming to the island..."

Raider stared right back at Hex with a small glare.

"_She and her friends teamed up to fight Metal Sonic on the behalf of Captain Charmy, Professor Miles "Tails" Prower…and Shadow the Hedgehog, who died in battle."_

_"...yeah; the news talked about how Shadow died while stopping Metal's plans...but it wasn't Shadow who stopped Metal, was it?"_

_"…no, it was my daughter… but GUN told the public that it was Shadow, because my daughter is deathly afraid of people sometimes…she would never have been able to handle the publicity if they ever found out it was her…after all, she told me once that Sonic the Hedgehog made being a hero look so fun, when it really wasn't…she's had to make heavy sacrifices throughout her entire life…"_

_Fighting us is small beans compared to that menace, _Raider thought.

"…_eventually, Metal Sonic had to make a truce with my daughter…because they would have to combat an evil that was much greater than the metallix and his rising empire."_

…_and there was something worse than him, _Raider thought again.

"...what's on your mind?" Hex hummed, stepping closer to Raider with a sly smirk. "Come on; you can tell me."

"…well, I unfortunately can't help you with Jill and her child," Raider said; lying of course, because most of this information he was still trying to figure out for himself. "You'd be surprised how protective King and his group would be of that girl. I've tried hard to get the info I wanted but so far, all I got we're those rumors…but Cowpoke and his son I can easily tell you about."

"...hm... that works, I suppose." Hex chuckled, as she stepped closer to Raider, wrapping two of her tentacles around the ox. "Do enlighten me, Raider."

"Hey, give me some space, would you?" groaned Raider, peeling away her tentacles with some disgust. "Sheesh…"

And he went to one of his filing cabinets to open the drawer and look.

Hex huffed, folding her arms. "You're no fun at all, Raider..." she murmured.

Raider ignored her and pulled out a file. "I've gotten to work getting as much info as I could on newbies," he said, putting the file on a table. "Apparently, there's a lot of talk about these hounds. After all, they actually started the fight on the ferry to protect Jill and her crying baby when they first arrived."

Taking the file, Hex looked through it. "...curious..." she mused, "...from what I've seen, Cowpoke is protective of Jill."

Raider actually smirked. "…I can tell you why that is…"

"...oh?" Humming, Hex looked at Raider. "Do tell."

"…source of mine overheard him talking to Sonia during Christmas time," Raider said. "…according to him, Cowpoke admitted that he had feelings for Jill."

"...mmmh... is that right?" Hex chuckled, "How intriguing... and fitting. I suppose I know how to get back at him, now..."

"But see; he knocked up some woman named Petunia when they were really young," Raider continued, "which got him his son there, and they were married so young that they got divorced. I'm guessing that it was a pretty harsh thing to go through for them, so Cowpoke's afraid to tell Jill anything…"

"...as I thought; an act of bravado to hide his own insecurities..." Hex chuckled, rubbing her hands. "Oh, I shall enjoy breaking his spirits... thank you, Raider; this will prove valuable to me."

"…what the hell are you going to do anyway?" Raider asked curiously, folding his arms.

"...I'm going to teach that Cowpoke a lesson... a lesson in regards to crossing me." Hex replied, before she hid the file on her person. "...now, Raider... would you say that these technological hiccups have left you quite stressed?"

"Stressed? Hell, more like frazzled," Raider grumbled, looking back at the computers. "…some stupid ghost of Christmas past…"

"...ooh, that doesn't sound good." Hex hummed, rubbing her chin. "...would you like me to help you get over that frazzling, so you can get back to working efficiently?"

Raider shot a look back at Hex, knowing exactly where she was going with this. He folded his arms. "It depends on what method you'll use," he muttered. "I know you too well Hex…you really trying to pull a fast one on me like that?"

Hex chuckled, as she approached Raider. "Oh, don't worry; it's non-consensual." she said. "If it were consensual, I'd be chaining you to my wall right about now. Consider it a token of thanks, for giving me such an edge against that mangy dog."

"…then what exactly does this "thanks" entail?" Raider asked suspiciously.

Hex chuckled, as she stopped in front of Raider. "...three to five times." she said. "I'll leave you to decide how many times, and how you'll make me do so."

Raider raised his eyebrow at that.

"...and don't worry." Hex chuckled, placing a tentacle on Raider's shoulder. "I'll leave my tentacles out of it, unless you tell me to use them..."

Raider thought about it. Sure, it was typical of Hex, and she really wasn't always the best candidate, but at least it's not like she's chaining him up against her wall in her chambers, like she said. He also figured he could use something to calm down from what happened to his computers. It could give him a clearer head to think again…

* * *

><p>It continued like this for a while, until eventually, the high from the climax died down, and their moans grew lower, before stopping. As she tried to catch her breath, Hex looked back up at Raider. "...mmmh... that was even better..."<p>

Both of them were coated with sweat here and there, and Raider pulled away from her, getting off the table. "That was three," he muttered. "Now get out of here…"

"...mmmh..." With a hum, Hex got off the table, rubbing her temples a bit. "...that took a lot out of me... I suppose I'll have some of my slaves clean me up." Then, she began heading off. "If I need more information, I'll come by later."

"Fine fine…whatever…" Raider murmured, going over and sitting back in his computer chair.

Before she left, Hex shot Raider a sultry look and a smirk. "...though... having you chained against my wall _is_ an invigorating thought." she mused, before she walked out of the door.

Raider shuddered. "…I'd rather die than be chained to your wall, Hex…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>FORESHADOWING XD<em>**


	6. Chapter 6

"…Sage! Sage!"

Sage chuckled a bit. "Good; you got it right." she said with a smile, patting the little ewe's head.

Joy giggled, feeling pleased with herself for the praise that Sage gave her.

"Alright; shall we move on?" Sage hummed, pressing her hands together. "What else can you say, now?"

Joy was going to say something, but then she heard the door open, and that caught the attention of the toddler. "...hm?" Sage hummed, glancing towards the door as well.

The door closed and there were footsteps that trailed into the living room. Joy's eyes lit up happily to see who it was. "Mama!" And she toddled right over while Jill sat down.

Sage hummed, as she looked at Jill. _...so, how was training?_ she hummed in Jill's head. _...ooh... didn't go as well as you'd have hoped, huh?_

…_no one's first time is the best,_ Jill responded, hugging Joy. She could only do as much as that, but Joy insisted on climbing into her lap and that made her cringe with pain. She could still feel the beating she took earlier today…

_...but you went up against Berta? And she managed to break loose for a moment?_ Sage hummed. _...well, at least you're still able to walk. But why did you leave the infirmary, pray tell?_

…_I wanted to be with Joy,_ Jill replied, wrapping her arms around her little girl and holding her. _…I just…needed something comforting…_

_...aah..._ Sage hummed. _...I can understand that._

Joy laid against Jill and somehow fell asleep so quickly. Jill smiled when she saw that, and she stood up as best as she could to go sit in the rocking chair.

_...do you want me to hang around a bit longer?_ Sage inquired, looking at Jill as she walked to the rocking chair.

Jill sat down and gently started rocking. _…would you?_ She asked. _…I guess I could use someone to talk to…right now, I'm too weak to even write anything._

_...alright._ Sage hummed with a nod. _...I suppose I could tell you what me and Joy have been doing while you were gone._

_Oh? What were you two doing? _Jill asked, looking down at Joy.

_Well... _Sage hummed with a smirk_. ...we've been having some... speech lessons, you could say._

_You have?_ Jill wondered, smiling up at Sage.

_Yup._ Sage nodded. _She can even say my name properly. She's really gifted, I have to say..._

Jill smiled even more at Joy. _…she's smart…just like her Daddy…_

Sage just smiled a bit at that.

The door slammed open and made Jill jump. Then a figure rushed into the living room. "Sage! You haven't seen—Oh! There she is!" It turned out to be Cowpoke, and once he saw Jill sitting in the rocking chair, he took a few breaths to ease himself.

"...why, hello, Cowpoke." Sage said with a nod to him. "Out of breath, hm?"

"…well…she sort of disappeared from the infirmary without anyone knowing where she went," Cowpoke muttered. He took out a walkie-talkie radio and pressed the button on it. "I found her Sonia. She's here at your cabin with Sage and Joy," Cowpoke spoke into it.

_"Oh, thank god! I was really starting to worry... I'll let Queen and Hunter know right away!" _Sonia called from the other end.

Cowpoke put away the radio and he came in to sit down. "You made a lot of people worry, you know," he told Jill. _…myself included…_ he thought to himself, but didn't speak that out.

Jill gave Cowpoke a sheepish, apologetic look. Then she looked back down at the sleeping Joy in her arms while she rocked.

"...well, at least she's alright. That's what matters, isn't it?" Sage said with a slight nod.

"…yeah…" Cowpoke looked over Jill, at all of her injuries, and his browed arched in worry. She really took a beating, it looked like. "…how?" he muttered, looking down at the floor. "…how can you take so much abuse and just walk away like that?"

Jill stopped rocking in her chair and stared in wonder at Cowpoke. Sage hummed, as she looked curiously at Cowpoke as well.

"…I mean…even if you…" Cowpoke was trying to find the right words to use, and he was having a lot of trouble doing so. "…you just let them beat you up…you just take so much abuse when you don't need to, and you let so many people walk all over you…why?"

Jill kept staring at Cowpoke.

…_does he really think…that I let people walk all over me?_

_...seems like it..._ Sage hummed. _...are you gonna reply to that?_

…_as a matter of fact…I think I will,_ Jill replied to Sage. _…if you're willing, Sage…_

_...right... I think I can do that._

Nodding, Sage stood up from her seat, walking over to Jill. "Cowpoke... you're gonna be a bit surprised now, I think." she hummed, before she placed her hands on Jill's head.

_...alright... say what you want to say to him._

Cowpoke looked up. "What do you mean I'm going to be—?"

"—do you really think that I let people walk all over me?"

Cowpoke stopped in shock, staring at the two of them. That voice didn't sound like Sage to him, even while the voice came out of Sage's mouth. Then he got a look from Jill that told him something else.

"…is that…you?" he uttered, pointing at her.

"…Yes Cowpoke…it's my voice…"

Cowpoke could only stare at Jill in disbelief. That voice…it sounded so different…so gentle and yet it had strength in its tone…somehow it was so fitting for her… but Jill didn't look too happy. He was baffled at why she didn't seem unhappy. "…what's wrong…?"

"…Cowpoke…do you really think that I just take abuse?" Jill looked at him, and he became very silent. That look in her eye was not one that he saw very often. "…Cowpoke…you have no idea what I've been through…and I'm not the kind of person that just takes abuse without fighting back."

Cowpoke only stayed silent.

"What happened here in Safe Haven was because I hadn't fought in a long time; I was rusty," Jill continued, "but don't you DARE assume that I'm just a rag doll that lets people beat on her…I've been through horrors that many would only see in their worst nightmares, and came out of it alive…it turned me into a basket case of emotions, but through it all I fought back as hard as I could."

Listening to her tell him this…it felt so strange for Cowpoke. Mostly it was guilt for assuming falsely, but…

"…sometimes I falter," Jill admitted. "Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me, and I fall on my knees and ask why me? Why do I go through such horrible things? What have I done to deserve this kind of treatment?"

"…I still have to live with the things of the past Cowpoke… after all, it's the reason why I can't speak anymore…the things that happened in the past cost me a voice…do you realize how hard it is to live without a voice when you have so much to say?"

Cowpoke looked back down to the floor again, guilty as ever.

"…I've fought…all of my life… please don't think that I just give up and let people have their ways with me. It hurts me, and insults me to think that someone who's been so kind to me doesn't have faith in me…that all their kindness turned out to be pity for how abused I was…"

Sage removed her hands from Jill's head, before she stumbled a bit, holding her head. "...ngh... never gonna get used to that..." she murmured.

All Cowpoke could do was stare at the ground in guilt. Sonia told him that Jill got that way because she challenged Berta to a fight, and Sonia remembered seeing Jill being wailed. He assumed the worst, mainly because he was so worried about her.

Sage hummed a bit, before she glanced at Jill. _...you got it all out of your system?_

…_for the most part,_ Jill replied, looking at Cowpoke a little sadly. The things she said looked like it was tough on him.

"…look, I…I didn't mean to make you feel like that," Cowpoke muttered. "…I guess I jumped to conclusions a bit quick, didn't I?" He looked up, trying to cheer up. "I'll admit; it's a bad habit of mine…"

"...hm..." Sage hummed, looking from Jill to Cowpoke.

"…maybe…it would help if I knew what things you went through…so I could understand…"

Jill was the one to stare at Cowpoke silently this time, turning a bit pale at the thought of that. When Cowpoke saw her turn a bit pale, he became worried again that he might have said the wrong thing again. "…what's wrong?" he uttered.

Sage let out a slight hum. "...it's... kind of a touchy subject for her..." she said.

"…_how _touchy?" Cowpoke asked, looking at Sage.

"..._very_ touchy," Sage said with a slight sigh. "And that's putting it lightly..."

Cowpoke hummed, and looked back at Jill. "…so…there's a pretty good chance that you're not going to share anything…" and he looked down to the floor again. "…I can understand that…" Personally, Cowpoke really wanted to know… he just wanted to understand Jill more. She was such a damn mystery that it made his head spin…and it drove him a little crazy, considering how he felt about her.

Jill could see a little of this, or at least that she knew Cowpoke really wanted to know. Sure, she really wouldn't have much strength to look back at everything…but…deep down, she felt sorry for Cowpoke.

…_Sage…maybe…we could show him…_ Jill eventually thought. _…but…b-but I don't know…I'm not sure if…_

_...I see. _Sage hummed. _...do you need time to think about letting him know or not?_

…_I…just don't know if I can trust him not to tell anyone else…_ Jill thought. _…it's…very delicate information…_

_...right._ Sage nodded. _You want me to tell him that?_

Jill looked at Sage and nodded, and Cowpoke looked up in time to see that to some wonder. Sage nodded, before she looked at Cowpoke and folded her arms. "...the thing is... what happened to her is very delicate information... you'd have to keep it an absolute secret."

"…oh, of course!" Cowpoke said. "I would never tell anybody information like that…especially with them weasels on this island…" He nodded at Jill. "You have my word; I will _never_ tell anyone…"

_...does that sound good to you, Jill?_ Sage hummed.

Jill nodded, looking back at Cowpoke.

"...alright." Sage hummed. "We'll show you... this might be a lot to take in, so be prepared... oh, and lock the door; we wouldn't want anyone else to walk in on this, would we?"

"…oh, right!" Cowpoke got up really quickly to close the front door and lock it. "…the shades too?" When he saw Jill nod, Cowpoke went around and closed the curtains around the windows in the living room.

"Alright..." Sage hummed... before she snapped her fingers. "Jill, you might want to get Joy to bed before we begin."

Jill nodded, and she weakly got up from the rocking chair to go do that.

Cowpoke wondered just how delicate this information was, if they were doing so much to be careful…and once Jill came back out of the guest room, he looked between her and Sage.

"...alright; both of you, take a seat..." Sage hummed, as she sat down, before she held out her arms, humming. "...I'm creating a psychic projection of Jill's memories, Cowpoke, so you'll get to see exactly what Jill wants you to know."

…_he has no idea what he's getting into, _Jill thought, going over and took a seat next to Cowpoke.

_...no one really is, when it comes to the past._ Sage hummed. "...are you ready, Cowpoke?"

"…yeah," Cowpoke answered.

"...alright..." Sage hummed, closing her eyes. "...first, let's see how Jill first came to encounter a vile being... known only as Deity Novagod." When she said that, she thrust her arms out, and the living room seemed to shatter like glass around them.

"…Deity Novagod?" Cowpoke questioned… and then he looked around himself again.

They were soaring through the air suddenly, making Cowpoke gape and gawk. They headed toward a mountain, plunging into the forest summit on it, and they were taken to a village that was hidden within the brush. Cowpoke stared in wonder at all of the tree houses around them and the villagers that walked about above the lofts.

"...welcome to Jill's first home." Sage hummed, closing her eyes.

"…this is your village?" Cowpoke asked, and Jill nodded. Then she pointed somewhere, and Cowpoke looked to see.

He saw Ray was there…and he was walking alongside someone. She was a bit shorter, with long hair and… Cowpoke's eyes widened. "That's you," he said in realization, and Jill nodded. "…you as a teenager, right?" Cowpoke asked, and Jill nodded again.

Cowpoke watched closely, seeing how the other villagers looked at the two of them. Ray was defiant and paid no attention to any of them, but younger Jill looked around a bit nervously and them. They didn't seem happy to see the two of them walking down the village.

Jill still felt a little pained to remember this…but not as bad as when she remembered the next thing.

To Cowpoke, it didn't look like any of the villagers noticed one single, certain individual among them. Younger Jill's eyes locked with those of this individual, shuddering a bit at the sight of some ice cold, pale purple eyes. The individual was a bat with white long hair wrapped in a ponytail at the end, with black wings, and very old-fashioned garb.

Then when younger Jill flinched at the sight of this character…he somehow vanished.

"…what's wrong?" Ray asked her.

"…I…thought I saw someone standing there," younger Jill uttered.

Sage remained silent, though she had a grave look on her face.

"…is that…Deity Novagod?" Cowpoke asked, looking at Jill. She nodded, with an even graver look on her face than Sage's, and Cowpoke's brows furrowed.

Then he heard screams and when Cowpoke spun around, he saw the village was suddenly in flames, and the villagers were running frantically away.

"...the result of Novagod's attack..." Sage mused.

Cowpoke's eyes widened at such horror, and then the scene changed, to elderly Mobians, and Ray and younger Jill.

"I was trying to hunt down the one who started the fire!"

"Child, what you should have done was put out the fire before it got so out of control!"

"Elders, please, it wasn't her fault!"

"No, it was yours for not properly raising your daughter in her place, Ray! We expected better from the Captain of the Guard. Your daughter went chasing ghastly apparitions of the night while she left behind the village to burn! Why couldn't you keep her under control when she was a child?"

"How do you expect me to teach her the things that only a mother could teach her? I'm only able to teach her the things I know, and that's how to hunt, and survive in the wild! No other woman wanted to take her in!"

"That's because she's the daughter of an outcast, which made her an outcast as well! What if she's the one that started the fire anyhow?"

"It wasn't me! It was him! That man with the dark powers!"

"The man with the dark powers…that's Novagod, isn't it?" Cowpoke asked Jill, and she nodded sadly.

"Oh child, that's enough! There's no way that you could prove this man you speak of, did this! We never saw this man anywhere in the village, and no one else has either. The only thing that we're sure of was that you turned your back on your people when they needed your help, and for insolence like that, you will have to be punished…"

Younger Jill gasped, and Cowpoke glared at this scene. He remembered Sonia telling him that Jill was banished…and it was for this reason… Ray argued with the elders, but they looked adamant about this…

"…but…but I…" younger Jill looked heartbroken. "…I'm so sorry…"

"Leave now."

Jill's head fell, and a few tears dropped to the ground. "…I'm sorry…that I...disappointed you, father…" and she bolted in a run past the elders, toward the exit of the village.

"NO! JILLIAN!" wailed Ray, with tears running down his cheeks, being held back.

"…its better this way…she can be free to be whoever she wants out there, and that's where she really belongs…in the outside world." The warriors released Ray, and he fell to the ground, slamming his fist on the ground.

"How could you?" he screamed, sobbing. "She was my only daughter! She was the only thing left that I had from my wife!" and he continued to sob on the ground.

"...quite tragic..." Sage hummed, shaking her head a little.

"…it seemed more like they wanted a reason to banish her," Cowpoke growled. "…just because she was an outcast to them…"

"...sadly, that's not the worst of what Jill had to face." Sage sighed, as she waved her arm. "...no... that would begin when Novagod decided to confront her."

They followed younger Jill as she ran from the village, through the woods. When she got to a point where she was too tired to run anymore, she fell to her knees and started crying. Cowpoke felt a lump in his throat when he saw this…and honestly, so did Jill. After all, they were digging into painful memories…

"…Hello, Jillian."

Younger Jill gasped, and looked around frantically.

Sage narrowed her eyes, as she folded her arms. "...there he is..."

Suddenly, that vampire popped up out of nowhere behind younger Jill, and when she turned around to see him, she screamed and scurried away from him a distance. "…you…" she uttered.

Deity Novagod walked toward her with a stoic look on his face.

Cowpoke kept looking at this guy… and could honestly admit that it was giving him chills down his spine. He also felt his hand being taken, and he looked over in some slight surprise to find that the Jill next to him had taken his hand out of insecurity. He looked at her thoughtfully; _…does this guy really make her _that_ afraid?_

"…you drove me out of my home!" screamed a younger, more distraught Jill. "What more could you want from me?"

Deity Novagod did not answer her; all he did was approach her, until he seemed to tower over her and she crumbled underneath him.

"…they are right…" he spoke. "…you are weak."

Younger Jill was hurt to hear something like that, and in her mix of violent emotions, she gave out a cry and threw her hand to hit him. Deity only caught her hand without a flinch, clamping his bandaged hand and claws into her to make her wince.

Then Cowpoke saw a black, strange, dark energy seep out from his hands into Jill's. Her eyes widened and she let out a bloodcurdling scream in pain.

"...that's Corruption." Sage murmured. "...a dark, vile force which only a certain few can utilize..."

"…Corruption…" Cowpoke uttered, watching younger Jill yank her hand away from Deity. Then she started to run away from the man frantically.

"…you can run, Jillian…but there is no place to hide from me," Deity spoke; his disembodied voice echoing all around them. "…for I am the darkness…"

The shadows started to move quickly through the night, chasing after a frantic Jill.

"No! Please!" screamed younger Jill out of desperation.

Then she reached a cliff side, barely halting before she fell right off of it, making a few pebbles slide off the edge. She stared at that, and then she looked back at the impending shadows that crawled toward her. It was either be taken by the shadows, or jump off the cliff.

She looked to see that the shadows rose right off the ground and took actual shapes…reaching out to her. With another scream, she stepped away, and she ended up slipping off of the cliff side, falling through the air with another scream.

"...and if you can believe it... that wasn't the end of it." Sage murmured. "For too long, Deity kept chasing her, wanting nothing more than to see her suffer..." With that, she suddenly swiped her arm at the air.

Numerous different scenes swept across them. All of them in different places, times, seasons… but they all consisted of the same thing; Jill running away from the darkness that chased after her. When they did catch her, she screamed in the utmost pain, all emotional and physical. It caused her to stray away from people, and to keep herself isolated from the world…she traveled alone, and in the night, she couldn't sleep, because of the darkness that was waiting for her; because of the nightmares she kept having even if she _did_ fall asleep.

One particular scene started to play out before Cowpoke, and he watched as Deity Novagod slowly approached a trapped Jill.

"STOP IT!" she screamed. "STOP IT! PLEASE!" she was hysterical, cowering before Deity Novagod. He snatched her by the wrist and lifted her up.

"…that terror…those negative emotions…" he hissed, biting and pulling off the bandage off of the other hand. "…the scent of your emotions is strong…"

"...what you're about to see... could both be the moment when Jill's life became a true hell... and Novagod's very first mistake." Sage commented.

Cowpoke saw purple, glowing markings all over his hands, and he slammed his hand right into Jill's gut, ceasing her helpless, hysterical pleas for mercy. Then he pulled his hand away, and a glowing aura of some kind of essence leaked out from a marking that he placed on her gut. Deity threw a weakened Jill onto the ground and he raised his hands, so the darkness around them could shoot into this glowing essence, forming and taking a dark shape…

Cowpoke's eyes widened at the result…

…it was a girl, that looked exactly like Jill… but her clothes were more that of a biker girl with a short miniskirt, a short jacket, and a belly top that showed her cleavage. Her hair was also frizzy, though it was just as long as Jill's.

Younger Jill looked at this in horror. "…w…what have you…d-done?"

"…I took part of your soul…" Deity Novagod spoke. "…and I created the image of all that you are not…"

Jill shuddered. "…what…?"

The other one that looked like her broke out into a devious grin and chuckled. "…Hi honey. You don't look too good…"

"...Callous... Jill's "evil twin", you could say." Sage murmured.

"…Callous…" Cowpoke just couldn't believe what was going on before his eyes…this was so horrible to look at, but he kept watching. He got himself into this, and it would be disrespectful toward Jill if he turned away from it.

It just kept going too. More scenes played out where Jill was terrorized instead by Callous, and two butterfly twins seemed to swoop into the mix of it all. "…who're those two?" Cowpoke asked.

"...Bloom and Gloom... a pair of miscreants from my own past, brought back from the dead by Corruption." Sage replied.

"…what…?" Cowpoke shot a look at Sage. "…the dead could be brought back by Corruption?"

"...Corruption can do a lot of things." Sage murmured. "It's all about manipulation; whether it's the body, soul or mind, Corruption, if the user is skilled enough, can manipulate just about anything; from shadows, like you saw earlier, to the spirits of the dead... and if it gets to you, it will spread, and tear your body asunder from within..."

Cowpoke's look on his face turned desolate, and he looked at the Jill beside him, who was turned away from him. "…I…I had no idea…" he spoke to her.

"...of course you didn't." Sage murmured. "Virtually none of us did when we first met her..."

"…but how did you get out of it?" Cowpoke insisted, standing up. "This didn't go on forever, did it? He was stopped, wasn't he?" Cowpoke felt so much anger toward this Novagod character right now…

"...well... it took quite some time... but Jill eventually found a ray of hope." Sage said, as she waved her arm once again.

Jill was in a fetal position, darkness and monsters and laughter surrounding her. She was malnourished, and abused from head to toe; like she was some kind of feral animal. She shuddered in the darkness, covering her head, wishing that all of this torture and abuse would stop…

Then suddenly…Jill stopped shivering…

"…you…you all…did such horrible things to me…" she uttered under her breath. "…you…you terrorized someone…who was defenseless to fight against you…and you…you mess with me…like I'm just your toy…"

The darkness around her slowed down, and the laughter died out in the void, almost as if it was listening to her.

"…I'm done…"

Jill uncoiled from her fetal position, and rose to her knees and hands. "…I'm not going to run away anymore…Deity Novagod... I won't let you push me around anymore…" A bright, pure white glow surrounded her, and the darkness seemed to flinch at it. Jill rose into the air, floating.

"…I'm going to fight back…" her voice echoed above the darkness, and she clenched her hands, feeling a renewed power inside. "…and I'm going to beat you, and Callous, and Bloom and Gloom!"

"Because you were wrong about me Deity…I'm not weak_… I'M STRONGER THAN YOU THINK!"_

She gave out a deafening yell and a storm of blight, pure white light shot out, pushing the darkness away. The gust of the power swept past Cowpoke, and he stared in shocked awe. Sage, on the other hand, actually smiled a bit at seeing the younger Jill accomplish this. "...that was when she discovered... Purity."

"…Purity?" Cowpoke uttered… then his eyes widened.

He could barely see a pure white figure in that blinding light, spreading out transparent green wings with an impressive wingspan; bigger that he ever imagined. The white being's eyes were glowing with green energy, and when she raised her arms, pale green energy burst out in a magnificent explosion.

"...Corruption's polar opposite... and only one of two forces that can defeat it." Sage hummed.

"…wait…if there were two forces that could beat it, and this was one of 'em…what's the other?" Cowpoke asked.

"...that comes later." Sage hummed. "For now..." When she said that, she pointed out that the explosion, by this point, had faded away.

More scenes came to pass; this time, Jill was fighting back the forces that were Callous, Bloom and Gloom, and Deity Novagod. Throughout it all, Cowpoke could see that Jill was getting better… stronger… more fierce and determined…and the more she fought, the more she started to win and drive them away. Cowpoke was in awe at these sights, while Jill just watched.

Eventually, it came to one final scene.

The rain was pouring hard, and thunder roared in the sky. Two figures were standing on the battlefield; one was white with green wings and carried a holy blade; that was Jill. Deity Novagod was on the other end…

"What is the matter?" Deity asked, as he eased from his fighter's stance. "You're not fighting as fiercely as you usually do."

Needless to say, she was exhausted. Fairy Jill was huffing in the cold of the storm, covered in head to toe with bruises, burns, and cuts. She had a distraught look on her face. _"Why?"_ she uttered. _"Why do you do this to me? What have I ever done to you?"_

"It's nerve-racking, isn't it?" Deity said, ignoring her question. "Not knowing anything…just trusting your instincts and taking leaps of faith."

_"I'm sick of your mind-games Deity!"_ Fairy Jill screamed. _"Why don't you ever tell me why you mess with me like this?"_

"Because," Deity said, as he walked up to her, "I don't need a reason to do what I do; I manipulate the weak-minded and gain only for myself. However, you prove to be someone else; someone special. I test you to see just how long you can last before you finally become another one of my victims…" As he opened his mouth, he revealed fangs.

_"Keep dreaming!"_ yelled the Fairy Jill, as the grip around her sword tightened_. "I'll never surrender myself to you! I'm making sure that all you did to me will end TODAY!"_ And that's when Fairy Jill charged forward after the vampire.

The two harshly battled. They slashed at each other with swords with blinding speed that the naked eye couldn't follow. Dirt flew everywhere, getting them dirty along with being drenched from the everlasting downpour of rain. Jill remembered that burning hate that she had again for Deity, but now that she was older, she could handle this scene better than before when Sage originally took her into her memories before.

Cowpoke meanwhile… was stunned and speechless. This girl, this woman…she was fighting so skillfully at such a young age; she was fighting much better than a great many of the soldiers on the island…he's never seen anything like this in his time before.

Then just as it came to a climatic slash between the two, which actually made Cowpoke gasp, and everything fell silent. Fairy Jill and Deity stood on opposite sides of the field, standing absolutely still while awaiting the other to fall.

Sage hummed, closing her eyes. "...and that... ended one part."

Fairy Jill suddenly collapsed onto her knees, panting. A long black scar became visible across her chest, and she turned her head back to Deity_. "Okay, you got me good…"_ she uttered, _"…but I won't count my chickens before they hatch."_

Deity started wheezing much more severely than Jill, while clutching his own chest. Similar to Jill, a scar was across his chest, but it was white and glowing; it also looked much deeper than Jill's wound. The bat stumbled to turn around, when he suddenly faced Fairy Jill, and she ran her sword into him. Cowpoke's eyes widened again at that.

_"Unfortunately, I won't spare any mercy for you,"_ Jill said. _"The jig is up…"_

Deity choked on his blood when she yanked her blade out of him, and after taking a few steps back, he fell on his knees, continuing to choke.

Fairy Jill raised her hands. The storm clouds above allowed a parting up high, where a ray of bright light shined down upon the Fairy. Balls of energy descended down from the heavens, and the Fairy rose into the air, surrounded by this energy. Deity also rose, coated with a bright light that caused him to scream out in pain.

_"You're lucky I can't make you suffer as much as I did_!" Fairy Jill screamed, as some tears poured out of her angry eyes_. "But I'll make sure you can't EVER harm anyone else!"_ Shooting the holy energies at Deity, he was consumed in a bright ball of light. It grew brighter, and brighter, and Deity's figure was no longer visible, as an invisible wave of force burst out, destroying the very ground.

Cowpoke could feel the force billowing out, like once before, and he continued to watch in the same awe he had always been watching in.

Surprisingly enough, the blast died in an instant. The light faded, and revealed a brilliant-cut jewel object, which would look like a Chaos Emerald; only it was black.

"…That looks like a Chaos Emerald!" Cowpoke pointed out with some surprise.

"...it may look like one... but it isn't one." Sage hummed.

"…so…she was able to seal him away in something like that?" Cowpoke uttered.

"...amazingly enough, yes." Sage nodded. "...though... I should mention something; until quite some time passed, Jill couldn't remember one bit of any of this... and here's why."

Fairy Jill fell to the ground, and tried to get onto her feet weakly. _"I….I did it,"_ the fairy muttered. More tears fell, as she smiled. _"…I finally did it!"_ she uttered, crying tears of joy.

"Like you said, don't count your chickens before they hatch, girl!"

Fairy Jill had a hand snatch the back of her head and black energy surged through, making her cry painfully until she finally fell silently limp. Callous stood over the fairy with a wide, evil smirk, cackling.

"You are a wonderful, generous person, dear," she chuckled. "You got rid of the most worthless scum on the Earth for me, and now I'm free to roam around free as I please without a care in the world!"

But Fairy Jill wasn't out and down for the count. The determined girl shook out of it, and got to her knees. _"Callous,"_ she said_. "If you're free now, then you don't have any more business with me. You should just leave and claim your freedom."_

"Why the cold shoulder, sis?" Callous asked, watching Fairy Jill actually get back onto her feet. "I figure that now we can have some more quality time toge—"

_"I don't want to spend time with you anymore!"_ screamed Fairy Jill, interrupting Callous. _"I want you to leave me alone!"_

"Don't be so sour with me," Callous grumbled. Just then, there was a flicker in Callous eyes, and Fairy Jill's eyes soon had the same flicker.

_"…you're right, I'm sorry_," said Fairy Jill, as he sighed.

"…what the hell?" Cowpoke uttered. "What did she do?"

"...remember how I said that Corruption was about manipulation?" Sage sighed. "...well... since Callous was a dark clone created from Jill's essence, she had a mental bond with her, and could easily mess with Jill's head."

"…It was more than that…"

Cowpoke jumped, and looked at Jill, who was just as surprised herself. "…Callous was a part of who I was…not just a dark clone…" Jill's mouth didn't move, but her voice could be heard through the void.

"Now just relax," Callous said soothingly, as she walked up to Fairy Jill. "You had a big day." Then she put a hand to the fairy's cheek. "Why don't you just _sleep?"_ she uttered, as another flicker came from her eyes and passed onto Jill's.

At first, the Fairy said nothing as she trembled. Then, her eyes closed, and the fairy collapsed onto the ground without another sound. Callous then knelt down beside her, and placed her hand on her head, as it emitted black energy. Then she chuckled, "now, I'm sure you won't mind me just tinkering with your mind…maybe you'll thank me for it. After all, you won't be able to remember much of anything, which means it won't be as painful as it was."

Sage just narrowed her eyes a bit.

"…I…had to give her some thanks for that…" Jill murmured. "…after all…she _did_ remove some of the painful parts from my experience like she said she did…so that I wasn't too much of a wreck…but that still meant that when I woke up the next morning, I didn't know much…all I remembered was that I sealed Deity away…and that was all that mattered to me at the time… I had no idea where Callous and Bloom and Gloom were…"

"…so after a year spent at the hands of that man…I wandered…until I collapsed in Mystic Ruins…"

The scene changed again. Jill was trudging weakly through a jungle, looking around. She looked awful… which was understandable, considering the war she had fought single-handedly.

"…no…I…I have to go on…" she uttered in a daze.

Cowpoke felt his heart ache to see such suffering… and then he gasped when she finally fell on her knees and fell unconscious on the ground right there.

"...thankfully... where she fainted turned out to be a stroke of luck for her." Sage hummed.

"...is someone there?" they heard an elderly voice call from further into the jungle, as someone began coming closer to where Jill was lying.

"…Hello?" called another voice.

At that point, two people emerged from the jungle; one of them being an eldery fox, who stopped by Jill with widened eyes. "...oh my..."

Cowpoke's eyes widened, recognizing the fox. "Holy cow…that's Miles "Tails" Prower…"

The other, which was a brick-red bull with a nose ring gasped and knelt down at Jill's side to check her pulse. "…she's still alive!" he uttered.

"...thank god..." the fox, Tails, uttered in relief, wiping his brow, "...let's not waste time. Brick; take her back to the workshop. We need to help her out."

The bull called Brick nodded. "Right!" and he scooped up Jill effortlessly in his arms, running off with Tails.

Jill watched Brick walk away with some sadness. Cowpoke noticed that, but he kept it to himself.

"...that's how Jill was found by Professor Miles Prower..." Sage hummed, as she waved her arm once more, "...and the beginning of a large journey."

Many images flashed by. One of them was a young husky-wolf throwing things around with telekinesis, and Brick getting angry by that while Jill giggled. "Hey, that's Ani!" Cowpoke uttered with a chuckle.

"Yeah…" Jill responded, smiling sweetly. "…and she wasn't the only one…"

More images flashed by where pieces of shipwreck washed up on shore, and three boys with a chao walked up toward the shop. "…Striker, Milo, and Jack…" Jill murmured. "…and Buddy too…" Happy memories of them playing together and building the tree house flashed by, making Jill smile. They also saw Shadow, Cream and Charmy there… all good things to remember.

Then… that one memory…

"Some of you may have noticed, but me and Tails... we have been withholding something from you," Shadow the Hedgehog began in the room full of children, as he pushed himself away from the wall. "Our reasons for doing so, was because at the time, it didn't seem as such a massive threat."

"Threat?" Jack asked, as he tilted his head curiously. "That's a bad thing, right?"

"Indeed..." Tails sighed, before he looked at the kids. "You all remember the stories I told you about Doctor Eggman, and how he tried conquering the world countless times?"

"Oh, yeah, the egg-belly!" Jack said, as he snickered. "For being a bad guy, he was kinda funny some times."

"Yeah!" Ani agreed with Jack. "Too bad he's dead! I'd like to shave off that mustache of his!"

"I'm guessing these stories might have something to do with the news you're going to tell us, right?" Brick supposed.

"Yes..." Tails nodded, as he closed his eyes. "Eggman didn't work alone. He had several robotic minions doing much of his work, the most notorious being Metal Sonic, who I'm sure you know of..."

"Yeah, Tinhog!" Jack laughed. "Like that time he turned into a dragon, and-"

"This is no laughing matter." Shadow shot in, as he clenched his hands into fists. "Metal Sonic has resurfaced."

"He what?" Brick said, no doubt completely surprised by that.

"Resurfaced? You mean he was underwater?" Ani asked, meaning to joke. Though when she got a glare from Brick, she got the impression that it was not the right time and place for joking, despite having Shadow said so.

"How do you know?" Jill asked, just as shocked as the others were.

"The same way most others found out." Shadow replied, before he folded his arms and closed his eyes. "...he's sieged Westopolis, and has somehow managed to mechanize the entirety of Green Hill Zone. Later, GUN received this message, which unfortunately was televised a few hours later." Then, he took out a sphere-like object, which shone a blue light out of a projector, which showed a robot hedgehog, sitting by a desk, his hands held together.

_"To all the world's citizens,"_ the hedgehog began, as it looked up at the camera, its red eyes glowing dangerously, _"allow me to introduce myself. I am Neo Metal Sonic, known as Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik's greatest success. Though my master may be long since deceased, it doesn't mean that he took his resources to the grave with him."_ Then, he stood up, as he placed his hands behind his back.

_"To honor him, I have decided to take up the mantle, and try my hand at world dominance. You may have noticed, given the complete makeover the city Westopolis, and the Green Hill Zone have received. Remember this; I will remake every landmark on this planet, every city, every single solitary space, until I have completely remade it in my image. However, I am not completely heartless; if you should happen to find a champion that can best me, I might be convinced to temporarily cease my takeover. Though I doubt it; the only one who could best me is long since deceased, as well." _

Then, he sat down, his eyes glaring evilly at the camera. _"That's all for now."_ Then, a silvery tendril suddenly emerged from his head, and just as one could hear screams in the background, the tendril rocketed at the camera, just as it cut to static.

"…that televised message," Cowpoke spoke. "…I remember that…"

"...soon enough, the world would feel the wrath of Metal Sonic... but Jill and her friends, more than anyone else." Sage murmured.

Cowpoke saw the group leave, with Jill staying behind and talking to Tails, and when they were going outside…

_"My, my, isn't that just charming."_ they heard a robotic voice say, which they'd instantly recognize. Just then, Tails looked at the ground in front of Jill, and pushed her behind him; on the ground, a silvery puddle was lying dormant, shimmering. _"Still the same, even after all these years, Prower." _Then, something began slowly forming out of the puddle.

"...Jill. Run away." Tails said adamantly, as he glared at the puddle. "Now!"

Jill was so startled at what she was seeing that she was frozen. But when Tails gave the order, she refused with a shake of her head. "No! I can't leave you alone! You'll get hurt!"

"Jill, just hurry and run!" Tails yelled, without looking away from the puddle, which was slowly attaining some sort of humanoid shape. "Don't worry about me; I can handle this! Now go!"

She didn't want to, but it didn't look like she really had a choice. If whatever that thing was what she thought it was, than she wouldn't do any good. So as he strictly instructed, she ran. She ran to her friends in a panic, warning them about Metal Sonic, and when they ran back, they saw that that Tails was fine…and he entered inside without any other thoughts…

…later, Jill went off that night in a storm after Shadow the Hedgehog into a temple in the Mystic Ruins… she tried to beg him not to go but he went anyway… but that didn't stop Jill from finding the back way in, and sneaking through the temple to find that Chaos Emerald in there.

"Shadow wanted to find the Chaos Emeralds before Metal Sonic…so that he could beat him," Jill narrated. "…and I ended up getting involved…"

Shadow was thrown into the room where Jill was, and she did battle with the metallix, exchanging some interesting dialogue before Shadow finally froze him and warped her out of there. "…because I got involved, Metal Sonic started hunting us down…so we had to move from our home in Mystic Ruins…" Jill continued, showing the scenes where Tails and the children gathered everything and caught a train ride. "…that's when I told them everything that happened in my past…and why I got involved to stop Shadow from getting hurt…"

Sage sighed. "...things just became worse once they arrived at their destination..."

Lightning flashed, and Shadow the Hedgehog was seen being stabbed by a silver tendril that was coming out from Metal Sonic's finger; something that stretched all the way to Jill's face, and she stood there in shock, eying the blood that was on it. Then Shadow was hurled right back at the children that stood there.

Before Jill could do anything, Metal reappeared right in front of her and grabbed her wrist. _"Have it your way."_ And the two of them vanished.

"…the only way I was able to fight Metal Sonic was because of my powers," Jill explained. "…ever since Brick and the Professor found me, I haven't been able to use my powers…like they disappeared somehow…but when Metal Sonic came along, my powers returned… and I fought him…"

Cowpoke shot a look at Jill, and then he felt a gentle breeze suddenly became very violent. Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, darkening a field even more. All the memories of those dark times against Deity Novagod...they were popping up very vividly in her mind now, and it only provoked her to become even more unstable. _Not again,_ Jill thought desperately.

Jill couldn't control herself anymore, and her body was carried up into the air as the winds began to circle around her. The dark clouds above parted barely enough to allow a moon beam to shine down upon her. "Okay Metal," she said. "You've convinced me how serious you are. Now I'm going to show you how serious I am."

Her eyes sharpened, despite the tears that fell from them. As they fell, they were suspended in the air and began to circle around her, like the winds.

Metal folded his arms, before scoffing. _"How serious I am? Are you talking about what I did to Shadow?"_ Then, activating his jet boosters, he began hovering up into the air as well, his eyes locked on Jill. _"That was an act hardly worth my time. I haven't even begun showing my true prowess, Jill."_

Jill took up a godly white glow, and the winds grew more violent yet. "Neither have I, Metal," she said. "Let me entertain you then, if that's what you want." She was consumed completely in light, and the light began growing brighter, and brighter, until it was blinding.

Cowpoke kept watching in growing suspense, watching the two titans battle that could only be considered legendary to most soldiers on the island. Then after some point, he witnessed Jill somehow pull the seven emeralds away from Metal…then the clouds parted above, as the moon shined down upon her like a spotlight. She raised her sword up, and from the sky above, small sparkles began to swirl around her blade, giving it a godly glow again.

"_I'll see you later, Metal," _she said.

Then she lurched forward and slashed through Metal with such blinding speed that he couldn't possibly have evaded it.

_"!"_ When Jill slashed through him, a massive cut appeared on his chassis. _"...that was..."_ he uttered, as his body fell to the ground, completely motionless where it crashed.

"…it wasn't Shadow that stopped him…" Cowpoke uttered in realization, looking at Jill. "…it was you."

"...correct." Sage nodded.

Jill watched as Metal fell, but she knew she couldn't stay. She had to get back and make sure the others were okay; when it occurred to her what had happened before Metal took her away. "Shadow!" she gasped, turning and flying off in the direction where the city was…

…when she returned, she saw that Shadow was lying on the couch, weak from loss of blood with the children, and Tails and Cream standing by him. With a groan and a cough, Shadow looked towards Jill. "...you're... alright..." he uttered, before closing his eyes, "...then... you beat Metal?"

"Uncle Shadow's still here, Jill..." Jack said, as he scratched the back of his head. "...but if you can't help him..."

"…I can help him," she muttered, as she trudged to the black hedgehog on the couch. Then she knelt down beside him. "Yes, I beat him," she said, "and the emeralds scattered." Then she was going to set a glowing hand on his wound.

However, before she could place it on his chest, Shadow quickly grabbed her wrist, keeping her hand away from him. "That's good... to know..." he said weakly.

"U-Uncle Shadow?" Jack uttered, as he watched Shadow keep Jill's hand away from him. "What are you...?"

"Don't worry about me..." Shadow said, as he looked up at Jill. "I've... lived long enough."

Jill looked at Shadow that moment, and after a while, she let the glow around her hand die out. Then she placed her hand on his forehead. "I understand," she said. "I guess you've lived a long, hard life…"

Milo was already weeping in Cream's lap, as the old rabbit stroked the little guy comfortingly, even as she, herself, was in tears.

"H-hang on... so, you're not going to..." Jack uttered in sheer disbelief, tears swelling up in his eyes. "But... that means that-"

"I'm afraid so..." Tails said with a sigh, before looking at the black hedgehog. "...you're sure about this?"

"Hmph... when have I not been sure about anything... aside from the invasion?" Shadow replied with a smirk, before he closed his eyes. "...but it has been a good life..."

Brick stood up from where he sat by the window and joined the others. Like Tails, he had a serious expression on his face, and it was hard on him too, even if the bull didn't show it.

Jill gave Shadow a kiss on his forehead. "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog," she muttered.

"…and so…that night…Shadow the Hedgehog passed away," the other Jill muttered.

Cowpoke just couldn't believe it… GUN told the public that Shadow was the one who stopped Metal on his dying breath…but he died around loved ones in a failed attempt…all along, it was this woman…

"...quite the shock, isn't it?" Sage hummed, as she waved her arm again. "...but Shadow's death was but a precursor for the things that would come to pass."

"…that's right," Jill agreed. "…Cowpoke, so far as we know, my powers returned for a reason… Deity Novagod was going to return…"

Cowpoke shot another look at Jill. "What?"

"…if you'll look… you'll see…"

Cowpoke turned, and found himself in a cold place…a top of a mountain covered in snow.

"I found it!"

There was a green female duck mobian there, and she was surprised when Brick shouted that. She came by quickly to watch him turn up something. When Brick pulled it out of the snow, it was indeed a gem; brilliant cut like a Chaos Emerald. There was a strange thing about this one though…

…this one was black.

"A…black Chaos Emerald?" Brick said, surveying it.

"Strange... I canna reckon seein' somethin' like that." A giant robotic pirate robot mused, as he observed the emerald. "But if 'tis a Chaos Emerald, we ortin' ta take 't wi' us; maybe th' fox could enlighten us, or somethin'."

"…that's Captain Whisker, isn't it?" Cowpoke uttered. "…you guys found that black emerald?"

"We took over the emerald hunt because my battle with Metal Sonic spread out the Chaos Emeralds…" Jill explained. "…and we weren't the only ones interested in the black emerald either…"

The duck looked on the radar, and indeed, it confirmed that the signal was coming off of it. Though suddenly while looking at it, her eyes widened. "Wait a minute! It says that there are TWO of them in the area! That black one is one of them, while the other is…above us?"

And then she looked up at the sky.

_"Surprise."_ Yes, above them, Neo Metal Sonic hovered, his arms folded, and a glare directed at the three of them. _"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."_

"You..." Whisker uttered, as he glared up at Metal, before he stood before Brick and Boomer. "Ahoy, ye two, stay aft!" he said, as he stretched his arms out, trying to shield them.

_"How noble... you know, this reminds me of something from before..."_ Metal mused, as he held up one finger, a small tendril appearing out of its tip. _"Care to guess what I'm reminded of right now?"_

Next thing Cowpoke knew, the rest of them arrived and it turned into a full blown battle… that eventually caused an avalanche and buried the group under the snow…

Sage narrowed her eyes a bit, folding her arms.

"…I had to use Chaos Control to warp us out from in there," Jill continued. "…but seeing as Deity Novagod was sealed away in that thing…"

"AAAAAGH!" the next scene showed Tails and Brick with Jill, pouring water over a hand that was scarred over with dark markings and Jill was crying out in pain.

Cowpoke's brows arched.

"...not very pleasant, to say the least," Sage sighed.

"…so…we went to GUN so that they could lock up the black emerald to keep away from Metal's clutches," Jill went on.

At this point, the younger Jill and a group with her walked through the halls of GUN; though eventually, their path was blocked by a different group; namely, three Mobians. One of them was a muscle-bound salamander, another of them was a female bullfrog, and the third one was a snake, who silently glared at the group.

"Um... is there something wrong?" Jack asked, as the snake slowly closed his eyes.

"Outsiders." the bullfrog scoffed, as she placed one hand on her hip.

"That's what you are, y'know!" the salamander said brashly, as he flexed his arms, looking at the group.

"Us? Outsiders?" Boomer questioned irritatingly.

Brick also looked pretty mad. "You have no right to call us that," he said.

"Sure we do, y'know!" the salamander retorted, as he butted his fists against each other. "You guys aren't part of GUN, so that means that you're outsiders, y'know?"

"Obvious." the bullfrog chimed in, as she glanced at the green duck.

"So, either you guys are gonna tell us what you're doing here, y'know, or we're gonna throw your—"

"Can it, Newt." the snake suddenly said, as he glared at the salamander, which actually made him stop his flexing out of sheer fear. "Same to you, Natal." he added, throwing a glance at the bullfrog, which made her look away from the duck.

Tails blinked, stunned at the authority this snake seemed to have. "...and you are?" he asked, just as the snake suddenly grabbed Tails hand, shaking it.

"The pleasure is mine, Miles Prower." the snake said. "The name's Wiper."

"Wiper huh?" Brick said. "Glad that the two of them actually listen to someone; My name's Brick."

"Boomer," the duck replied bluntly.

"I'm Jill…"

"And I'm Jack!" Jack said with a smile, just as Wiper let go of Tails' hand.

"I see..." Wiper mused, as he briefly glanced at Boomer. "You're part of the Chaotix, aren't you?" he said, just as he stuck his tongue out briefly, making a hissing sound while it was out of his mouth. "I've heard good things about you. Ever considered becoming part of GUN?"

"Not to be rude, Wiper, but we're on our way to meet the Commander." Tails said, as he gave the snake a smile. "So would you mind telling your friends to move aside?"

"I have a better idea." Wiper replied, before he turned around. "Newt, Natal, we're taking these people to the Commander. Any objections?" There was nothing but silence. "I thought so. Let's go." Then, the three began walking down the hall, whilst Wiper looked back at the group to ensure that they followed the three.

"…they agreed to guard the black emerald once we explained a little bit to them," Jill narrated. "…in return, they came with us and acted as body guards…becoming involved in the whole thing…"

"GUN gettin' involved with the whole thing?" Cowpoke chuckled. "…damn…the surprises don't stop with ya."

"…unfortunately…the black emerald was stolen," Jill murmured.

It went to the cryolab, and a shadow rose out of the ground. When Cowpoke saw who it was, he jumped. "It's her!"

Callous broke out the black emerald from its prison with a smirk, and the next thing they knew, another prison was broken out of…

"…Queen!" Now Cowpoke was shocked, seeing Queen stepping out of the frozen prison. "You mean you all…?"

"…yes…throughout all this fighting with Metal Sonic…I met King and his troupe when they were fugitives running away from GUN," Jill explained. "…I've known them ever since then…before any of the soldiers here did."

"...though things started roughly between us... we all eventually became good friends." Sage hummed.

"…Callous, in the meantime, was working for Metal Sonic," Jill spoke. "…and she brought that black emerald to him. He started to use it for the Shadow Androids, injecting the powers of Corruption into them…"

"...one such android, however, was a special case." Sage hummed, waving her arm once more. "You see, a certain someone felt like he could still be of some use to us... even in death."

Cowpoke looked back and forth between then questionably.

"…you see…" Jill muttered. "…Sonic the Hedgehog…even in his death…all of his friends were fighting…and Shadow found a way to possess one of the androids, bringing him to us."

Now Cowpoke shot another shocked look at Jill. "What? You mean you've got ghosts possessing things too?"

"...well, _one_ ghost." Sage hummed. "Shadow possessed one of the androids, who we later called Proxy, as a way of helping us against the threat. Not only did he possess nearly the same capabilities as Shadow did, but thanks to the android enhancements, he could also utilize Corruption to some degree."

"…damn…" Cowpoke muttered. "…ghosts too? Just what else could you add to it?"

"…that's not going to be the most shocking part, Cowpoke…" Jill uttered. "…Metal Sonic suddenly found that black emerald and Callous a threat to his empire…and…he came to me…"

It showed a room, where Jill was letting in a fox plushie in through her window…and suddenly a long, silvery tendril suddenly flew in through the window, headed for the door, instantly locking it. Then, before Jill could fathom what was going on, the tendril began reforming into a shape she'd find too familiar. "_...hello, Jillian._" Neo Metal Sonic said.

Jill's eyes widened, realizing what she just did. She trembled, due to the frailty of her sickness combined with fear, and then she looked down at the ground, before she closed her eyes. "Metal," she uttered.

"_That it is. Good to see that you haven't forgotten me._" Metal said, as he glanced around the room. "_So, these are your quarters... seems fairly homely._" Then, he looked back at Jill. "_So you're sick? Oh, dear; that doesn't sound good._"

"…it was Callous' doing," Jillian replied, sitting back down on the bed when she felt too tired to stand. "She took me somewhere for questioning and…" Jill shuddered to think about it. No matter what she went through, or how long ago it was…

…she was still afraid of 'the darkness.'

"_Did she, now..._" Metal muttered, as he looked at Jill. "_I don't suppose that another round of questioning from yours truly will worsen your condition?_"

"It won't," Jill replied, still not looking at Metal. "After all, Callous did plenty of other things to me…I'm sure you're straight to the point…" She couldn't stop herself from shaking so much.

"_Indeed..._" Metal muttered, as he folded his arms.

"He asked about the emerald, and I told him about Deity Novagod…then he told me that he wasn't going to use the black emerald anymore, because the ghost of my mother warned him the dangers…afterward, he gave me a CD with information on it as a parting gift," Jill spoke.

"...the information on that CD... simply put, it was the final battle between Metal Sonic and his counterpart." Sage hummed.

"…and a repeating promise that Metal was the only one that could take my life…not anyone else," Jill explained. "…the last battle he had with Sonic caused an avalanche, and he ended up buried in the snow for that many years…when he was awaken by one of our friends, Calculate, he found out the truth of Sonic's death and…he took it really hard…he felt like he failed his purpose in life…"

"…and that's why he would make you promise your life to him," Cowpoke muttered, nodding. "…guess that much I can understand…"

"…but what most people don't realize was that right then…I felt sympathy for him."

Cowpoke eyes widened. "…You felt sympathy for METAL SONIC?"

Jill looked back at him with a sad look that made him stop. "…I saw…someone who was trapped…I didn't see a robot that was programed to kill. I may have been naïve then and didn't understand robots…but I personally wanted to see if he had a better purpose than to take over the world…that's the only reason he was going to do that, because he didn't know what else to do with himself…"

Cowpoke stared at her in amazement. It was bad enough that he found out a total stranger to legends like Miles Prower and Metal Sonic could beat the robot… but she had sympathy for a robot that had killed for one of the most ruthless criminals known?

"...not long after that, I decided to show Jill what me, King and the others had gone through 17 years ago." Sage hummed. "I'll save that particular flashback for a different time, should you be interested (and still inclined not to tell a soul), but the short of it is, after that, Jill went off to train on her own."

When she said that, she glanced back at Cowpoke. "...three guesses who her coach was for the following week."

Cowpoke thought for a little bit. "….Miles Prower?"

They shook their heads.

"…King?"

Shook their heads again.

"…Miser?"

"…it wasn't any of them…" Jill spoke. "…my coach was Metal Sonic."

"WHAT?" Cowpoke yelped.

They appeared at a forest spring, where Metal was still. "_Someone's early._" he noted, without looking a younger Jill who approached him.

"Well, sadly there was another change in plans," Jill said. "I won't be going with my friends when they go back to the Clubhouse."

"_...you won't?_" Metal inquired, as he glanced back at Jill. "_Why is that?_"

"I want to take advantage of the time there is left before things start happening," she said. "So I was hoping I could train full time…if that's alright with you?"

"_...I don't see why not._" Metal said with a shrug, as he stood up. "_But I had planned on going back to Westopolis, just to check up on Calculate; but, nothing that making a copy of myself wouldn't solve._"

"You wouldn't have to make a copy; we could just meet up here in the morning and start the training from there," Jill said.

"_True, true..._" Metal muttered, as he glanced at Jill. "_But I'll have to warn you; I'm no good guy. My methods will be brutal, and there won't be much time for rest. If you're willing to do this, you'd better be prepared._"

"I know," Jill said. "That's why I trust your training will be the most efficient."

"Metal Sonic made a truce with me so that he could train me…because we shared common enemies," Jill spoke.

"…Lord almighty…you made a truce with the guy…" Cowpoke was still trying to process that now…

"...and if you can believe it, things just get more shocking from there," Sage commented. "...though... there is _one_ thing from our past that has to be addressed..." As she spoke, Sage waved her hand again; "...namely, the matter of one Johnny Leoniel."

Far away, in a forest somewhere, someone was furiously cutting through the woodwork, searching for someone. "They're bound to be hiding somewhere..." this person muttered, as he pushed aside a tree; it was a lion, and right between his eyes, a scar ran straight down. Also, on his chest, a steel compartment was located, and judging from the pulsing light on it, one could guess that it was linked to his heart.

"...and when I find them, it's gonna be gruesome."

"Well, what do we have here?"

Soon the lion encountered a dark figure leaning against a tree. This figure turned out to be a certain scandalous ewe.

"...it depends," the lion uttered, as he looked at the ewe. "Who are you?"

The ewe eyed him with interest, "Just someone who shares the same interest. You know, hunting down someone you despise..." she teased.

"...really?" the lion questioned, as he raised his eyebrow; "What's your name, then?"

"My name's Callous, handsome," she introduced, chuckling; "How about you?"

"Call me Johnny." the lion introduced, as he leaned against a tree. "So, who're you looking after, babe? Someone who got away from a fight, or something?"

"Let's say, she's like a twin sister of mine," Callous said, "We've been fighting for as long as we can remember. I'm just leisurely taking my time while she wastes her energy training for a fight we'll have in a week." Then she smirked at Johnny. "What's your story?"

"Eh, it's nothing special." Johnny said, as he knocked at the compartment on his chest. "Fifteen years ago, or something, some people I was ordered to kill ended up doing me in first. One got me through the heart, and the other got me right between the eyes." Then he pointed at his scar. "Apparently, GUN's kept my body in prime condition since then... and just recently, they got me back in action. I think they did it with a Chaos Emerald, or something..."

"A Chaos Emerald huh?" Callous said. "Interesting. So you're hunting down the very people that killed you long ago?"

"Well, they just so happened to bust out of GUN around five months ago." Johnny replied, as he shrugged. "Seven of them. Five of them flew the coop, one was captured and recently busted out, and the last one... he's the bastard who gave me this scar."

"Callous and Johnny made a threatening team," Jill spoke. "…especially when Callous introduced Johnny to the "wonders" of Corruption…which only made things so much more worse…"

Cowpoke listened in more shock. It sounded like that only made Jill even more connected to King and his friends…and frankly, that amazed him as much as all these things that he was learning.

"...one quite strange thing to note, though..." Sage hummed, rubbing her chin. "...Johnny, who was a ruthless, heartless killer... actually was the uncle of one of Jill's friends; Jack." Then she shrugged, "Not much family resemblance there, huh?"

"…w-whoa…" Cowpoke muttered. He remembered how Jack looked like, and looking at Johnny now…he could see the physical resemblance, but the personalities were totally different.

"…like Callous said, Metal had made a bet with her about a battle; if he could train me to beat her in the battle, she would return my part of the soul she possessed…and if I was beaten, I would forfeit my life," Jill said.

"…with what you told me about Metal Sonic, I could understand why he was determined in winning that bet…" Cowpoke muttered.

"…but throughout the training…Metal Sonic started to change from his cold-hearted behavior…to actually feeling something…" and at this point, this was when Jill got the most sentimental, sadly looking down away from him.

Cowpoke stared in wonder at her.

"...needless to say, they both grew a lot closer during that one week of training..." Sage hummed, before she sighed. "...sadly... Callous was hoping for that." With that, she waved her arm to change the scene once more.

The scene changed to a floating piece of land in the middle of a horrendous storm. Jill was her fairy self that Cowpoke saw before, and Callous seemed to change into her own version of that; a demonic, black being with most of the same abilities on the other spectrum of powers. Johnny and Metal were standing at the side, watching the fight go on for quite some time…

Just then, Johnny sighed. "As much as I enjoy seeing her get smacked down all the time... it's not gonna be satisfying. Callous, fire it up!"

Just then, Metal shot Johnny a glance.

Callous shrugged. _"I guess it's all we can do now."_ From her person, she reached and pulled out something, showing it to Jill which she could see was a tiny figurine that looked like Metal for some reason.

And that made her nervous. _"W...what is that?"_ she uttered.

_"Watch and see,"_ Callous chuckled. While squeezing the figurine, her hand became coated with red Corruption energy, and started to seep into the figurine. Unable to hold it in, Metal let out a cry as he clutched at his chest, before collapsing, writhing in sheer pain. This scared Jill nearly to death, and she clasped her hands over her mouth in horror, as Callous laughed.

_"...what are you doing to him?"_ Jill questioned, turning to the black witch who smirked wickedly.  
><em><br>"It's a little toy he gave to me, just before I snatched that black emerald from the GUN base,"_ Callous chuckled._ "But it's acted as the perfect voodoo doll!" _Again, she injected more Corruption into the figurine.

Metal let out another shriek of pain, as he began thrashing wildly about, the pain simply too much for him to handle.

Seeing that, Johnny laughed. "And you know the best part about it, Jill?" he said, as he glanced at the ewe. "For several days, now... without you knowing..."

Just then, Metal shot Johnny a glare. _"D-don't... you... DARE!"_ he yelled, though that caused him to lapse back in pain.

Hearing that, Johnny chuckled. "Oh, you don't want me to say it?" he said, before glancing at Jill. "Then why not tell her, yourself?"

_"...Metal, what are they talking about?"_ Jill uttered, scared even more.

Breathing heavily, Metal looked away from Jill._ "...I... suppose there's no hiding it, anymore..._" he uttered, before wincing in pain. _"...it began the same day that Ani attacked the camp..."_

"Hurry it up, will you?" Johnny chuckled, as he folded his arms. "I need to see her reaction!"

Shooting Johnny a glare, Metal eventually closed his eyes. _"...I didn't know that she could do something like this... but using that figurine... she's invaded my mind... and been able to inflict pain upon me... as she is now..."_

Jill's eyes widened. _"...all this time...she was doing those things to you?"_ she uttered. _"...and you kept it from me?"_

_"That's right, honey,"_ Callous chuckled again.

Jill trembled while she stared at Metal...and eventually, tears rolled down her cheeks.

That was enough to cause Johnny to start laughing loudly. "YES! This is priceless!" he cackled.

_"...J-Jill..."_ Metal uttered, as he looked weakly at her._ "D-don't get the wrong idea..."_ Just then, holding in the pain that was seeping into his body, he began to slowly push himself upwards. _"For the past week... I've gotten to know you well... and if it's one thing I'm certain of... is that you're a huge worry-wart..."_

Seeing Metal slowly climb to his feet, Johnny stopped laughing, as he watched the Metallix. "...well, now..."  
><em><br>"...if I had let you know about it..."_ Metal continued, as he tried to push himself up on his feet. _"...you'd be too unfocused to fight against her..."_ Just then, he looked up at Jill. _"...and there's too much at stake... for you to lose focus... Jill!"_

_"You know, I'm tired of hearing you talk,"_ Callous said, digging her nails into the figurine now to add to the pain that the Corruption was giving Metal. "_I'd rather hear you SCREAM!"_

However, there came no scream. While his entire body tensed, Metal was doing his very best to stay strong, as he kept glaring at Jill. _"...listen..."_ he began, as he clenched his hands into fists. _"...I originally went into this... as a means to be rid of Callous..."_

"...no way..." Johnny uttered, as he saw just how determined Metal was to keep himself composed. "...he's got some guts."  
><em><br>"...however..._" Metal continued. _"...I know what's at stake... because if you fall... there won't be anyone who can stop Callous... from doing as she pleases..." _Just then, Metal winced in pain. "_...think...! If you fall... then what of your friends...?"_

"…those dirty bastards…" Cowpoke uttered, glaring at the scene. "…they played with your emotions…"

"…I felt so torn…that I only saw one solution to it," Jill muttered.

_"...let him go...Callous,"_ Fairy Jill sputtered, bringing up her blade. _"...or I'm taking the two of us down right here, right now."_ Jill then directed her blade...at her own chest, threatening to impale herself. _"...if one dies, so does the other, right Callous?"_ Jill reminded, illustrating what she would do.

Callous' smirk fell, and for a minute, she was silent. Would Jill actually do that?

However, Johnny simply scoffed. "She's bluffing! Finish him off, Callous!" he yelled.

Metal, however, was stunned. _"...you..."_ he uttered. _"...you fool! What do you think you're doing?"_ Seeing that, he began walking towards Jill, as if the pain from the Corruption was subsiding. _"Are... are you going to sacrifice yourself... just to save me?" _he yelled, as he jammed his eyes shut. _"ARE YOU GOING TO LET A _KILLING MACHINE_ LIVE... AT THE COST OF NEVER SEEING YOUR FRIENDS AGAIN?"_

Callous finally smirked again. Then she started to laugh, and it grew. _"Relax Metal; she probably IS bluffing!"_ she she summoned up an even more dangerous amount of Corruption to the figurine in hopes of finally shutting up Metal.

As Callous laughed, it was Jill's turn to be silent for a minute.

This time, Metal screamed, as he sank to his knees. However, in spite of that, he still advanced towards Jill, glaring at her. _"...Jill..." _he uttered, his body starting to tear from the intense amount of Corruption within his body. _"...y-you can still take her out..."_ Then, he glared at Callous. _"...she's completely open! For... FORGET ABOUT ME... AND JUST DEFEAT HER!"_

More tears came down from Jill's eyes, as she shut them tightly.

Callous suddenly felt an unbelievable pain in her chest and she stopped laughing. When she went to clutch her chest, she felt something wet run out, and when she took a look at her hand, she saw blood. Her hand trembled at this sight, because Callous never bled, and she looked up in total disbelief at what happened.

Jill...like she said she would...stabbed herself.

Cowpoke gawked. "…oh my god…"

"...yeah... that just happened." Sage nodded.

Like Callous, blood came from her impaled chest where her sword ran through and from her mouth, some blood trickled as well; something that also started happening to Callous. Both could scarcely breathe with the blood forced out through their throats, and both were slowly losing strength. Callous dropped the Metal figurine, and the black goo oozed out of that thing as it returned to normal; freeing Metal completely from its control.

Both were even reverting to their normal forms too; Callous' demonic wings turned into mere black goo and melted off her back into puddles on the ground, and the light all around Jill was withering away in shimmers, revealing a gravely injured ewe underneath both of them.

Once they finished reverting, both of them eventually collapsed to the ground; with the blade still through Jill.

Seeing Callous collapse, Johnny was more or less startled. "...C-Callous?" he uttered. "...h-hey, stop joking around! Come on, get up, already!"

Seeing Jill collapse, however, even though he was free from Callous' control... that brought an even greater pain to the Metallix, than Deity and Callous ever had put him through._ "...J-Jill..."_ he uttered, as he got on his feet. _"...Jill..."_ Quickly, he began running towards the ewe.

Jill at least had enough strength to yank back out her sword, but the wound remained, since she firmly refused to heal it. Callous rolled to face the sky from where she was lying on the ground, and had felt the extra pain from Jill pulling the sword out of herself.

"...Callous!" Johnny yelled, as he began running towards her, an honestly worried look on his face. "Come on, this isn't funny anymore! Get up, and take out both of them!"

Just then, Metal skidded to a halt next to Jill's body, kneeling by her._ "...Jill... you fool..."_ he uttered, as he was now on the verge of tears. _"...you went ahead and broke our promise, you..."_ Unable to see Jill like that, he shut his eyes, placing his hand on Jill's.

Jill coughed up blood, before she could answer him. "...I didn't break...my promise," she uttered. "...I beat her...I made sure that...she wouldn't..." and she coughed again.

"...heal yourself..." Callous suddenly yelled. She clenched her fist and turned her head to Jill. "HEAL YOURSELF DAMN IT!"

"...no..." Jill croaked.

"Callous, don't strain yourself!" Quickly, Johnny knelt by Callous. "Hang in there; you can handle this!"  
><em><br>"...that's not the promise I was talking about..."_ Metal uttered, as he turned his head away from Jill. _"...you promised... that you'd only let me kill you..."  
><em>  
>Jill slowly reached with her other hand and touched Metal's arm. "...I wouldn't...have been able...to keep both promises...in that situation."<p>

When Jill said that, however, Metal suddenly glared back at her, unable to hold back his tears anymore._ "...do you even realize what you're doing...?"_ he uttered._ "...this is... the second time I've been robbed of my victory... do you even know what it feels like? You were my goal! What do I have left now?"_

Jill was crying too. "...I'm so sorry...it's just that I..."

Callous also reached with her hand to touch Johnny, and while digging her fingers in, spiritual energy came from her arm and began trailing into Johnny. "...just so...they don't go...to waste," she uttered to him.

"...Callous..." Johnny uttered, as he slowly moved his hand towards Callous' cheek. "...what're you saying? You're not gonna let this kill you... are you?"

Callous sighed, putting her other hand to Johnny's hand on her cheek. "...I can't do anything about it. If she wants to die...then I'm coming along with her."

"...n-no..." Johnny uttered; for once in his life, he actually seemed distraught. "...no! No, you can't allow that! You're the superior twin, aren't you? You can take her!"

Looking at Jill, one could almost tell that Metal was trying to hold back his tears. _"...you didn't have to do this..."_ he uttered._ "...how could I possibly be worth more... than all of your friends...?"_

"...Metal..." Jill spoke, coughing blood afterward. "...you're my friend...too..."

"...Johnny," Callous said, as it seemed that she was on her very last breath as well. "...I'll miss you."

The minute Jill's hand fell from Metal's arm, so did Callous' arm that was sending in the spirits into Johnny. To their touch, both ewe's immediately became stone cold and still. Jillian and Callous were finally dead.

Cowpoke watched this with horror, heartache… a few tears even rolled down his face, and he was a pretty strong guy that could handle a lot of things. He just couldn't believe what Jill sacrificed for someone like Metal Sonic…

Jill couldn't even look at this. She felt like she could cry too, especially when she could remember the fear she felt as she died there in Metal's arms.

"...Jill and Callous' deaths, in turn, would signal the impending end of this conflict." Sage hummed. "Around this time, Novagod had broken free from his prison, and Metal Sonic intended to finish it once and for all; by collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds. This included killing Johnny, as he had been brought back from death with one of them..."

Then, she shook her head. "...but... something else happened, that no one could have expected; not even me."

"…during the training, Metal was trying to figure out how to combine such opposite forces of Purity and Corruption, maybe creating a new force that could better combat Corruption…it wasn't until he mixed more Chaos Energy into it that he was able to create it," Jill explained.

"…an energy called Unity…"

Cowpoke wiped his eyes. "…and that was the other force Sage talked about…"

"…well that force…his grief was strong enough that the power transformed him…" Jill spoke.

"...and not just in a metaphorical sense..." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes. "...but literally, too. To ensure that he wouldn't be missed by anyone in the likelihood that he'd perish against Novagod, he... well..." And with that, she waved her arm to change the scene once more.

They found themselves above Chaotix HQ, where soon enough, everyone in the building walked outside, all of them eyeing Metal Sonic, who happened to be outside. _"...the crowd gathers..."_ he mused, before closing his eyes. _"...ask any questions you'd like, but stay calm about this."_

"Alright," Charmy the bee said. "First off...who's this "target" you said you were going after, Metal?"

"…Oh! I remember! He made an appearance on the news at that time!" Cowpoke uttered. "Right before he disappeared!"

_"I believe that, by this point, the answer should be obvious." _Metal said, as he looked at Charmy.

"...Deity Novagod, then." A Shadow android uttered, as he glanced at Metal.

_"Bingo."_ Metal nodded.

"And next..." Charmy continued, while rubbing his chin. "What do you intend to do with the Chaos Emeralds?"

_"Simply a means to deal with Novagod." _Metal shrugged. _"I can't give out details, though; it'd spoil the surprise."_

"...I see," Charmy said, closing his eyes. "And-"

"Where's Brownie?" Brick cut in, giving the metallix a very cold, demanding stare. "If you're off doing this...then what about her?" That question brought everyone to glance at Metal in wondering.

…_Brownie?_ Cowpoke swore that he thought of something like that before, during Christmas time…he had no idea that it had actually been a nickname for her.

Looking at everyone, Metal slowly folded his arms behind his back. _"...she defeated Callous."_ he said after a while.

"...is that so?" Brick said, though he greatly questioned whether or not that was true. "Then how come she isn't with you right now?"

"...maybe because she was so tired after the fight, Brick?" assumed Striker. As Striker said that, Metal glanced to the side.

"...Metal." Wiper uttered, as he stepped forward a bit. "...where is Jill?"

_"...do you really wish to know?"_ Metal uttered, still not looking at the group.

"Metal..." Milo stepped up, and he was just about to break into tears; something that actually surprised and scared everyone. "...please, tell us..."

Looking down at Milo, Metal eventually closed his eyes. _"...Jill..."_ he began, though for a while, he didn't say anything.

"...well?" Shadow uttered, as he raised an eyebrow.

Then, Metal looked back at the group. _"...she's dead."_

It was completely silent.

Brick's tough demeanor was instantly shattered the moment he heard those words, and while his eyes widened in unbelievable shock...tears began to appear, and run down his cheek. "...no..." he uttered. He fell down on his knees while more tears fell down from his sorrowful eyes. "...Metal...you can't be serious..." he uttered in despair.

Metal, however, gave him no reply, as he folded his arms, looking down at the ground.

"...how... did it happen?" Miser uttered, as she looked at Metal with a distraught look. "...d-did Callous-"

_"No."_ Metal said briefly, as he closed his eyes, before giving a brief, very low confession: _"...I did it."_

Hearing that, Queen's eyes widened. "...what did you say?"

_"I said..."_ Metal uttered, before he looked at the group again. _"...I... killed Jill."_

Brick threw his fist on the ground, trying so hard not to break into such a heartbroken sob. He was trying to work through his emotions as best as he could, but the only thing that grew was total grief, and boiling anger. Slowly, he got back up without looking at anyone...

...and then he grabbed Metal by the shoulders. "HOW COULD YOU?" he screamed right in Metal's face. "You were supposed to make sure NOTHING happened to her! You gave us your word!"

_"...what?"_ Metal actually chuckled, before he simply pushed Brick away. _"Did you forget just who you're dealing with? I've been playing everyone for a complete and utter fool..." _Then, he glanced at Cal and Tails Doll. _"...even my allies."_

_"...B-Big Bro..." _Tails Doll uttered. _"...how could you...?"_

_"Oh, it really was amazing..."_ Metal chuckled, as he closed his eyes. _"Sure, Jill had been weakened, but she eventually managed to defeat Callous... and the moment she turned to me to affirm her victory, I struck her down."_ After he said that, he looked up at Brick. _"Seeing that distraught, betrayed look on her face before the life ebbed out of her... was truly worth putting up with this week-long façade."_

"I knew you couldn't trust him," growled Boomer.

And as for Brick...his own emotions were growing out of control. A red aura of Chaos Energy appeared around the enraged bull, mainly coming from his ring. "You...you BASTARD!" he screamed, aiming to punch Metal right there with a Chaos-coated fist.

Surprisingly enough, however, Metal actually took the attack head-on, sending him flying a good distance away, before he crashed against the ground. _"...are you satisfied?"_ he uttered, as he looked up at Brick, without getting up.

"NO I'M NOT!" Brick screamed, running right after the metallix just as the red Chaos Energy around him transformed into a giant red bull, aiming to strike Metal with a charge.

Again, Metal didn't even bother evading, as he was knocked further away by Brick. _"...do you hate me?"_ he uttered, remaining immobile on the ground.

"YES! YES I HATE YOU!" Brick bellowed at the top of his lungs. "You took away the one thing that was the most precious to me!" Brick came over and picked Metal up with tremendous strength, using this opportunity to punch Metal as hard as he could with the other hand. "You used her! And she trusted you!" he continued to scream as he kept punching Metal, even if his own fist was bleeding.

"...Brick..." croaked an upset Milo, but he was unheard.

_"...she was a fool for trusting me." _After a while, Metal suddenly grabbed hold of Brick's fist, and even with the extra power Brick was getting, the Metallix was overpowering him. _"As were you all."_ Then, he pushed Brick with enough force to send him hurtling back towards the group. _"...I'm done with you. You should prepare for my reign as soon as _Deity_ is destroyed."_ After saying that, Metal turned to leave.

Brick only got back up, and he let out a roar of rage as he ran at Metal again. "WELL I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU, YOU LIFELESS, COLD EMPTY SHELL!" And he channeled all the Chaos Energy he could muster into this fist, throwing it at Metal from behind.

However, he ended up hitting nothing but air, as Metal vanished._ "...that's me in a nutshell."_ he uttered coldly, as he suddenly reappeared in front of Brick, his palm slowly moving towards his face. _"I am a killing machine."_ Then, with surprising agility, Metal grabbed hold of Brick's head, and slammed Brick down into the ground, keeping him pinned. _"And if you do not stop pestering me, I will not hesitate to kill you, too... while everyone is watching."  
><em>  
>While pinned, Brick finally broke down and wept while Metal still had him pinned. "Do it then!" he sobbed.<p>

"Brick!" Boomer uttered.

"Kill me then! Get it over with now!" Brick continued. "...there's no way I'd be able to live without...Brownie..." he shook terribly as he cried on the ground, becoming quite a basket case.

_"...tsch. Pathetic."_ Metal scoffed, before he let go of Brick, looking down at him with disdain. _"...how can you be so quick to want to throw your life away? That is utter idiocy of the highest caliber."_ Then, he began walking away. _"Farewell."_

_"...BIG BRO!"_ Tails Doll suddenly yelled, as he rocketed in front of Metal, glaring at him. _"What's gotten into you? This isn't like you at all, Big Bro!"_  
><em><br>"...it's exactly like me."_ Metal uttered, before he raised his arm. _"Now move."_ he added, before slamming his arm right into Tails Doll, knocking the plushie straight to the ground, before he kept walking away.

"Tails Doll!" Ani cried, running after the doll to check to see if he was alright.

Brick only continued to sob his broken heart out on the ground. Some of the others gathered around Brick in concern, but no matter how many times they called his name, he ignored them.

Still, Metal paid the group no heed, as he closed his eyes whilst walking away._ ...now... for Novagod..._

"...you should be ashamed, Metal Sonic." Sage suddenly uttered in a strained tone. "You are, without a doubt... the worst liar I have ever met in my entire life."

"…he lied about all of that…" Cowpoke uttered. "…why would he lie about all of that?"

"...like I said, he intended to make sure that not one of us would miss him if he perished against Novagod..." Sage hummed. "...but the real reason was most likely... because he refused to believe what Jill had done for him; a killing machine, created by the biggest criminal in known history."

"I have been standing here for quite a while, listening to the drivel this idiot has been spouting..." the past Sage uttered, as she closed her eyes, "...and no matter how hard he tries, he is saying exactly the opposite of what he's been thinking. Quite frankly, it's pissing me off."

Everyone looked back at Metal.

"...Metal...was lying?" Striker sputtered.

"Hence why I called him the worst liar I've ever met." Sage nodded. "He doesn't even want to lie, that's how bad it is." Then, she glared at Metal. "...how about it? Who wants to hear what Metal Sonic's really thinking?"

_"...you wouldn't dare..."_ Metal uttered, as he slowly clenched his hands

"You know what? I would like to know," Charmy said with a very cold tone. "And why he would tell such a cruel lie for that matter."

"...his thoughts are jumbled; in flux." Sage said, as she kept glaring at Metal. "...it's for the best. Who would believe me? This will keep them off my case." she uttered, as if she was in a trance; reciting Metal's thoughts word for word.

Obviously, this was starting to take an effect on Metal, as he looked down at the ground. _"...stop it..."_ he uttered.

"...why?" Sage continued. "Why? Why do they look at me like that? What else could I say? The truth? They would only assume the worst. Why? Why did it come to this? Why? Why? Why didn't I act more cautious? Why? Why? Why? Because of me..."

_"...no..."_ Metal uttered, as he held his hands over his ears. _"...get out of my head..."_

"...why? Why? It's all my fault. Why? Why? Why? I couldn't stop it. Why? Why? Why? Why? I was a fool. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

_"...shut up..."_ Metal uttered, as a dark-green aura began building up around him._ "...shut up..."_

"...why did she sacrifice herself... for me?"

That did it. With a roar, Unity suddenly exploded around the Metallix, as he spun around to glare at Sage. _"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"_ he screamed, as he hurled a sphere of Unity right at the raven; thankfully, Miser suddenly got in front of Sage, knocking the sphere away before it could strike the raven, letting it explode harmlessly to the side.

Then, there was only silence.

"…being called out by Sage in front of everyone like that…it was the last thing that triggered what happened next," Jill spoke.

Breathing heavily, Metal kept glaring at Sage, who simply looked back at him with a neutral stare. _"...you..." _he uttered. _"...you..."_ At that point, however, the Metallix suddenly clutched his chest in pain, as he doubled over, forced down to his knees.

"...Metal?" Milo uttered.

_What's wrong with him?_ Hunter thought. _Did Sage break him?_ Hunter's thoughts were spoken aloud partly because this was Sage's memory too.

"...no, Hunter, I didn't." The past Sage uttered in surprise. "...this is something entirely different."

_"Big Bro?" _Seeing Metal sink down like that, Tails Doll quickly fluttered to his side. _"Big Bro, what's wrong? Come on, you..." _he began, though soon, he saw something strange starting to happen to Metal's body. Liquid metal was literally dripping off his robotic body, as the Metallix actually began groaning in pain.

Everyone gawked at Metal, but the only other one that actually ran for the metallix was Milo. "Metal!"

However, with one quick glare at the lion, Metal sent out a tendril that blocked Milo from approaching him. "._..don't... come near me...!_" he uttered weakly, before he winced in more pain, pressing his hands against his chest, as if it would relieve him of pain.

_"Big Bro!"_ Tails Doll said in shock, as he cautiously fluttered a bit away from Metal. _"What's happening to you? Wha-"_ Just then, both of Metal's hands suddenly sank directly into his chest._ "AAAAHH!" _With another pained cry, Metal managed to pull out his hands from his chest, though he also pulled something else from his body; the green Chaos Emerald, which fell to the ground as Metal began twitching in pain, a small pool of liquid metal having amassed around him at this point.

"...wait a minute..." Sage uttered, as something dawned on her. "...that dark-green energy! That's what's causing this!"

"That dark green energy?" Cal muttered. Using a variety of his instruments...and his Corruption sense...he figured what the energy was judging by the Purity, Corruption AND Chaos energy that he detected in there. To this, his eyes widened. _...Is that...the energy he created using the three entities? _he thought; the thoughts spoken aloud thanks to Sage.

_"Aaagh...!"_ Metal cried, as he weakly tried pushing himself off the ground, but to no avail. At this point, with the amount of liquid metal dripping off him, it actually looked like the Metallix was melting.

"...Metal..." a Shadow android uttered, as he and the others could only watch the Metallix be tortured like that.

At that point, the liquid metal amassed underneath Metal actually began bubbling, as if it was boiling, before it suddenly erupted up around Metal, encasing him in what seemed like a cocoon of liquid metal. Then, they could hear terrifying screams of anguish bellow from within this cocoon, until after a few painful moments passed, when it all fell silent.

No one dared to break the silence once more, awaiting to see what would happen next.

After what seemed like an eternity, from the bottom to the top, the cocoon seemed to disintegrate, letting everyone see what became of Metal.

And once it was gone, not a single soul present remained unaffected. Even Cowpoke was shocked.

From the lower half and up to the waist, there was no true, notable difference, but upwards, Metal had been transformed. Gone were the sleek, metallic armor, the claw-like hands, and the cybernetic visor; replaced by a thin layer of dark-blue fur with a peach-colored tummy, a pair of white gloves connected to peach-skinned arms, and a pair of real, red eyes. Aside from a few cosmetic things, such as the shoulder pads and collars, his upper half no longer looked like Neo Metal Sonic.

Somehow, Metal Sonic had turned into an actual living, breathing Mobian, and the scariest thing was...he looked a lot like Sonic; go figure since he had been modeled after the famous hedgehog.

"Oh...my..." an elderly Cream choked on her words, because there was no way to express her response to seeing this.

Suffice to say, everyone felt a massive shock at seeing Metal's new form, as he simply looked at them. At that point, however, he stumbled, before he collapsed on the ground, his breath brief and rapid.

"Metal!" Milo finally tried to approach him again, and even Cal decided to head toward him, just to make sure he was alright.

"...to this day... I still can't really believe it actually happened." Sage noted.

Cowpoke's mouth hung open. Just when he thought he couldn't be surprised, he was once again proven wrong. He glanced over at Jill, and he saw a few tears roll down Jill's face when she saw this. Jill remembered the pain she watched her friends go through when she was a spirit…but watching Metal endure that kind of pain was…well, painful for her.

"…you really do care about him…don't you?" Cowpoke muttered. Jill couldn't reply, other than a nod.

"...it's strange, really, how it all came to pass." Sage hummed. "...but, I'm sure you're curious about how Jill is still around, when she took her own life." Then, she waved her arm. "Thankfully, we discovered a loophole to all of this in our time of grief..."

"...Wait a minute! It doesn't have to be this way!"

All heads perked up, except Brick's head that is, and turned toward one individual standing all alone.

Milo.

"...Milo?" Ani uttered, looking up as she tried wiping her eyes.

Milo actually had a quite...positive look on him. "Jill isn't completely gone yet! Her soul can't pass on because it's still broken in two!"

"...broken in two?" King uttered, as he glanced at Milo. "...you mean... Callous?"

"...of course..." Wiper uttered, as he snapped his fingers. "Novagod created Callous using part of Jill's soul... if she died, chances are, she never got to reunite both parts."

Rudy looked at Milo in wondering. "...but...what does that mean?"

"Jill will never pass on to the great beyond if her soul is separated," Milo said, as he began to pace back and forth. "She needs Callous to willingly reunite back with her if she wants to pass on...but there's a loophole to it!"

"...explain," Boomer urged Milo.

"When a broken soul is pieced together again, it goes through a "re-birthing" process," Milo said. "It takes time in order to fully restore a soul to its original state since it was broken up, and since both parts of the soul have entirely opposite personalities. Then, there are other things I've noticed. Jill's been able to heal using Purity...and Deity was able to bring back the dead, or create the "undead" using Corruption...it looks like Metal created a new energy with those two, as well as putting Chaos Energy into the mix, and thanks to that energy, it transformed him."

"...where are you going with this, Milo?" Hunter asked.

"Did you guys see what that energy did to Metal?" Milo questioned. "If it can turn Metal into that..."

Brick's head finally rose, with eyes as wide as could be. "...it might be powerful enough to bring Brownie back to life!" he finished.

"Right!" Milo said. "If Metal used that energy; powered by all seven Chaos Emeralds...it could be strong enough to properly bring Jill up from the dead, without horrible side effects!"

"…damn…" Cowpokes eyes were once again wide.

"…and it worked too," Jill spoke. "…Callous was with me when we were spirits…and she agreed to join back with me…somehow, she agreed right then and there…"

The scene changed to a jungle in the middle of a storm. Milo's eyes shot open, and quickly looked behind him to witness a flash of light. Then two figures of light whooshed past him, and circled around each other. Milo stared at this scene wide-eyed. "...it's them!" he uttered. "The re-birthing process!"

Indeed, for the more the two figures of light circled around each other, the closer they became, until the lights literally intertwined with each other, becoming one recognizable glowing figure that suspended in the air above them, and slowly descended down to them.

"Metal...you have to take that soul and put it in Jill," Milo said.

"...alright..." Metal nodded, as he allowed Unity to coat his arms, before slowly reaching his arms out to the spirit.

Cowpoke watched Metal place the spirit within the body, as the Chaos Emeralds were engulfed in a brilliant glow.

Jill's body took on just as brilliant a glow as the emeralds did, glowing with dark green Unity, while they rose and began revolving in the air around her. Callous' body made a golden glow, and slowly deteriorated away in golden dust. Then the golden dust channeled into Jill, turning her dark green glow into a golden glow, as the wound on her chest shrank away. Soon, she sank back down to the ground…

…Jill's hand twitched, and slowly rose to touch Metal's hand that was on her cheek. Then her eyes opened, and while looking upon Metal, she smiled. "Metal..." she mumbled.

"...Jill..." Metal uttered, as he couldn't help but close his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. "...forgive me..."

Jill tilted her head, while wiping a tear with her finger. "Forgive you for what?" she murmured.

"...if it hadn't been for me..." Metal uttered, as he looked away from Jill. "...if I had only told you of my predicament... you wouldn't have needed to go to such extremes..."

Jill sat up, putting her hand under Metal's chin to make him look at her. "Everything's okay Metal..." she said, trying to comfort him. "I'm here..."

"...y-yes..." Metal uttered with a nod, forcing a smile. "...you are."

"...after that... there was no putting it off any longer." Sage hummed. "We would all pull our resources together, to stop Novagod once and for all..." Then, she closed her eyes. "...except... someone else already _did_ that; turning into another threat... Johnny."

"…Johnny was so torn over losing Callous that the Corruption consumed him," Jill uttered. "…it turned him into a monster, and beat us to Deity, supposedly killing him and taking over my mother's castle in the sky. We ended up having to battle him, with the help of Sonic's spirit and the spirit of his friends as well…and that was when we all found out that Callous could actually take over my body…"

Cowpoke's eyes widened and he looked at Jill. "…those red eyes…" he uttered. "…that's Callous, isn't it? She can still take over you?"

Jill looked away guiltily.

"...it startled us; especially since we assumed that Callous had made peace with Jill after agreeing to unite with her..." Sage commented.

"…I was able to fight Callous away thanks to the help of Metal's energy cannon he had on the city of Metropolis; an invention that Eggman concocted before his untimely death," Jill spoke. "…and after we defeated Johnny…we all discovered that Deity Novagod wasn't dead, but that he was secretly dormant in Johnny; absorbing all the hate and power that Johnny gathered. My mother's castle was consumed with Corruption…and Deity Novagod arose, trying to turn into a dragon…"

"...but both Jill and Metal weren't gonna let him off that easily." Sage hummed.

Younger Jill stepped out toward the edge of the city of Metropolis with the seven Chaos Emeralds circling around her, and the blistering winds from the storm all around swept up her hair, just as she stopped and looked up at a massive, black dragon that seemed to be half submerged within black goo. It saw her, and it gave an angry roar at her, but it didn't do anything else other than that.

"...did someone call for backup?" At that point, the flesh in blood Metal walked up next to Jill, looking at the dragon. "...it's time to end it... once and for all."

"Yeah," Jill answered, just as the Chaos Emeralds started expanding, rotating around the two of them now.

The dragon, and Cowpoke watched, while the two of them slowly rose into the air with the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, circling around them. They could feel their power increasing by the second, and a brilliant glow emerged from the area they hovered in. Then, a massive flash occurred, covering Jill and Metal in its brilliant light. Once the glow faded, two beings of unimaginable powered hovered.

Metal, unlike the last time he had undergone a Super transformation, still retained his usual shape, though his fur had turned from a blue color into a golden one, and the silver linings along his quills were glowing on their own as well. His eyes had turned from red to a clear blue, and suspended above his palms were two silvery spheres, which were glowing all on their own as well.

Jill's jacket was gone, and instead, there was a pale green ribbon intertwined through her arms from behind. Many other things had appeared on her; two green jeweled bracelets, and the same kind of jeweled halo over her head. Then came the angelic wing of pure energy that grew out from her right shoulder blade, and the demonic wing of dark energy that grew out of her left like before. That wasn't the last of it either, for a shower of golden sparkles responsible for her transformation had swept over her, changing her color. She had golden waves in her hair, light golden skin, and even her once maroon curled horns were now golden. Jill herself seemed to radiate with that golden glow.

Cowpoke stared in awe. "…You two became Supers…"

"We went into the dragon, because the power of the Master Emerald was able to stop Deity Novagod from transforming, effectively trapping him," Jill spoke.

The scene changed again. It was a chapel, but this chapel was not holy. There were no pews; thick with a slightly dark reddish air and a red carpet led up to a platform. On this platform, there was a stretch of some kind of...black muscle tissue, with pulsing veins, and it constricted the very man they were looking for. Deity Novagod's hair was a rat's nest, and his face was messed up, covered in strange markings ,and bulging with veins from his face and throughout his arms; truly an ugly, gory sight when they just saw his upper part of the body, and the rest was presumably within the black muscle tissue that held him there. Right now, his eyes were closed...

Metal and Jill entered this place. Seeing this grotesque sight, Metal frowned, as he regarded a silent nod to Jill; motioning for her to follow him forward, as he slowly approached Deity.

As they moved up toward that platform, Jill jumped. The doors right behind them slammed shut, and when she glanced back, they vanished from sight, leaving no visible way of leaving this place. Then when she looked up toward Deity, they witnessed him open his eyes. The white of it was now black, and dark red eyes gave such a death glare at them. Seeing these two here with such a radiant glow made the mutated vampire give a feral hiss.

However, even looking at that creature Deity had become, Metal remained undaunted. _"...this is it, Jill."_ he uttered, as he held the two spheres ready. _"The moment of truth."_

"It turned into a suspenseful battle…" Jill spoke. "…and once we were close to defeating him…"

Deity reached forward with his hand and grabbed Jill's neck. His sharp nails dug into her neck, giving puncture wounds to her that bled, and the strength of Deity's mutated arm likely choked Jill severely.

Seeing that, Metal's eyes widened. _"...son of a-"_ he growled, just as he viciously swung down at the hand holding Jill, cutting it cleanly off the vampire's arm.

Jill pulled away, yanking off the severed arm that still held her and she clutched her neck while she had trouble breathing; black smoke sizzling out from the punctures in her neck. She didn't let that stop her, however, from opening up her hands and summoning a bow. One half of the bow was made with an angel wing, and the other, a demonic wing. The bow string was golden, and as she pulled back, a golden arrow appeared in place, before she shot it right at Deity's head.

In slow motion...it soared right at Deity, and he could only watch...just as the arrow pierced right into his head dead center. A shocked look froze on his face, and his head cracked more and more from where the arrow was stuck in his head with a white light shining through the cracks.

Meanwhile, Jill continued to wheeze short breaths while holding her neck.

_"Jill!"_ Seeing that, Metal pulled Jill a small distance from Deity, standing in front of her in order to protect her from any more tricks from the vampire. _"Are you alright?"_

Jill couldn't quite answer, because she was still having trouble breathing.

The golden arrow burrowed within Deity's head, and that was the last straw that broke it, as Deity shattered, and revealed the bright glow of white light. Gritting his teeth, Metal quickly raised his shield, which ensured that the two wouldn't be blinded; still, Metal tried looking past the shield, to see what was hidden within that light.

The bright light flashed, expanding over them, overtaking them...and while they were blinded, they could hear the fatal cry of a dragon...

"...mhrm..." Eventually, the bright ray of light was gone. Blinking, Metal opened his eyes, as he noticed that the bright light was gone.

He saw that he was in that chapel again, and it was in ruins, but it looked holy like it should have been. Looking at himself, he realized that he was not radiating with a golden glow anymore. He had reverted back to normal from his Super form, and as his eyes trailed farther, he spotted each of the emeralds sitting on the ground around him. "...what do you know..." Metal hummed, as he looked at his arms. The spheres, which had been generated from his Super Mode, were also gone. "...wait..." At that point, something dawned on him, as he glanced around. "...where's Jill?"

Hearing a rather unsettling noise that sounded like short gasps, Metal whirled around. There was Jill, and she too was no longer in that sacred form of hers. Black wisps of smoke were still coming out through Jill's puncture wounds on her neck, and she was still wheezing. "Jill!" Seeing that made the hedgehog fearful, as he quickly ran to Jill's side, kneeling by her. "...j-just hang on; I got this." he muttered; Purity enveloped his hand, and he placed it on the puncture wounds. "Just hang on... don't give up on me! Not when we finally won!"

Purity managed to snuff out the black whips of smoke, but even as they departed and the puncture wounds healed, Jill was still having trouble breathing...

"...just try and relax, Jill..." Metal muttered in an assuring tone. "...we did it! We destroyed Novagod!"

Jill nodded, and smiled, while she tried to steady her small breath. She was so happy about defeating Deity, in fact...that tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. It had finally been done...Deity was finally gone, and out of her life. She wouldn't have to endure any of his torture anymore...

Seeing that, Metal couldn't help but smile, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "...at last... it's over."

Jill's head lowered, and her shoulders trembled while she tried to hold back her relieved tears.

"...what's wrong?" Metal said, as he sat down by her, simply looking at her. "...you finally beat him... there's no reason to hold it in anymore."

Since Metal permitted it, Jill broke down and sobbed into her palms silently. Metal merely closed his eyes, as he gently patted Jill's back, for support.

Jill sobbed for a while, and perhaps she would've sobbed forever for the things she had been put through, but she knew that she didn't have forever. Her weeping subsided and she wiped her eyes dry.

Jill opened her mouth to speak then…

...but nothing came out.

Bewildered, she tried again.

...not a sound came out of her mouth.

Blinking, Metal glanced at Jill. "...are... you alright?" he uttered.

Jill felt scared. Every time she tried to speak, there was nothing.

No voice.

"…the cruelest thing of all was that Deity Novagod…had stolen my voice with him to his grave…" Jill uttered. "…and ever since then, I had never been able to speak again…people could only hear me now if my thoughts were channeled through Sage, like what you saw earlier…"

Sage didn't say anything this time, as she just folded her arms.

Cowpoke now felt a great deal of sympathy for Jill… heck, he was so sorry for her, after all of the things he went through. He looked sadly at Jill. "…I'm so sorry…" he muttered.

"…and…then it got even worse…" Jill uttered. "…when Metropolis was flying away from it all…he still came back."

"ARE YOU FUCKIN' SERIOUS?" Cowpoke yelped.

"Deity Novagod's soul came back as a dragon, and I was the only one to be able to see it, until the Professor used something from his past; a little necklace that was left behind from their friend, Light Gaia," Jill explained. "…he kept coming back…none of us knew how we could beat a soul so vile…so persistent…"

"...but after a while... we figured out one way; a permanent way." Sage hummed. "...though... it didn't go by as we initially thought it would." With that, she waved her arm again.

Younger Jill rapidly charged for the reptile monster; determination pumping through her just as madly as her own heart did. The dragon swiped at her, but Jill jumped, and it tried again, but she moved the other way. No matter how much the dragon tried to get her, she was WAY too quick. Finally, the Dragon stamped its foot down on top of her, buried within another crater under its foot.

Cal's eyes widened, "Jill!"

Suddenly, the dragon jerked, and roared, while trying to pull its foot out; but it couldn't. Its foot was stuck. Jill slowly emerged from the crater, holding the foot firmly in her grip, while digging her fingers into the foot. Dark energies emitted off the dragon, and rushed to her hands...being taken in by her. She cringed. With the overwhelming dark energy she was absorbing, it was hurting her. It even started to scar her with those strange markings, and bring back the wounds she had healed times before, and this time, they were coming in too rapidly to heal. The markings grew bigger, darker...

...even a trail of blood came out of her nose.

Absorbing Deity's soul was damaging her. Cowpoke shook his head at the horror of it… "…she's absorbing his soul…" he uttered.

Everyone was stunned at Jill's sudden act, but none more so than Metal; especially since he just realized what she was doing. _"JILL!"_ he yelled, as he instantly rocketed down to underneath the foot, jabbing one of his hands into it, whilst placing one arm on Jill's shoulder. _"...I'll take care of this!"_

As he said that, the dark energies began flowing into his own body, not only from the dragon, but also from Jill. Instantly, the dark markings returned to his arms, as one could see several nasty wounds open up all over his body; some organic, and others mechanic, somehow.

Jill was shocked…she didn't want Metal to do this!

The Dragon yelped, and slowly started deteriorating away as Metal absorbed it in. Finally, it lifted its foot and shook Jill and Metal off, throwing them onto the ground. Jill tried to get back up, but she was so weakened that she barely had the strength to do so. She was aching all over, and it was getting harder to catch her breath. Gritting his teeth, Metal quickly got to his feet, in spite of his horrid injuries. _"...I'm not going... to let you roam free!" _he roared, rushing right at the dragon once more, jabbing his hands into the beast's leg. The dark markings expanded across his body, and one could see parts of his body turning mechanic again, whilst some parts of him remained organic.

Jill grew extremely fearful for Metal, but she had been so weakened she couldn't get to him.

Growling in pain, Metal kept absorbing the dragon as best he could, though now, wounds were opening up all over his body; wounds not even made during the past few weeks.

"...what's happening to him?" Wiper uttered in utter shock.

"...it's catching up to him." At that point, that same Shadow android appeared by the spirit of Sonic the Hedgehog (something that once again shocked Cowpoke) and Jill. "Trying to absorb that dragon caused Jill injuries... however, Metal has suffered a lot more injuries than Jill in the past, and this process seems to be bringing all those injuries back."

Jill wanted to plead for Metal to stop right now before he did any permanent damage on himself. If only she could speak!

The Dragon was growing sluggish and less resistant as Metal was growing closer to absorbing it entirely. Gritting his teeth, Metal sank down to one knee, though he still kept on absorbing the spirit, glaring up at it. _"...you're done for... Novagod!"_ he yelled.

Jill rose to her feet, and limped toward him. Then as she built her strength, she sped up to a frantic sprint for Metal. This was around the time that the Dragon let out one last fatal cry, before finally disappearing within Metal. Breathing heavily, Metal simply looked up at where the dragon once stood, before slowly, a smirk crawled across his lips. _"...heh... I... did it..."_ he uttered, collapsing, weakly pushing one of his arms against the ground so that he wouldn't slam face-first into the ground.

Jill finally reached him, and knelt down to try and pick him up off the ground, but the most she managed to do was turn him up, holding him. Everyone else just about rushed to Metal, but they kept a distance away from the two, seeing Jill in worried tears over Metal.

_"...gnh..." _Metal uttered as he winced. _"...I... do hope that's the last we see of him..." _he muttered, as if his injuries weren't even a factor to the current situation. Weakly, Metal glanced at Sonic. _"...he's not... coming back now... is he?"_

"After that..." Sonic croaked "...I think its safe to say that he's not coming back this time..."

_"...that's... good to hear..."_ Metal uttered, before wincing again. _"Kkh... that took a lot out of me..."_

Jill hated herself for not being able to speak. She wanted to tell Metal that he didn't have to do that; he didn't have to make that sacrifice of imprisoning that demon within him! She didn't want him to do that... She didn't even bother stopping herself from crying right now.

_"...now... what are you crying over...?"_ Metal uttered, as he glanced at Jill. _"...did you really expect me... to let you go and do something reckless... only hours after being revived...?"_

The sorrowful ewe could only look at him, unable to reply. He still didn't have to take that burden...

_"...even if my body were to be destroyed..."_ Metal uttered, as he looked up at the sky. _"...it'd be worth it... if it meant that you'd be able to live on..."_

"...we've got to give him a medical check-up." Wiper suddenly said, looking at the group surrounding Jill and Metal. "He sustained those injuries while in his Super form, but if he reverts to normal..."

Cal knew exactly where to take Metal, so he marched over and picked Metal up. Jill fearfully clung to Metal, and Cal tried to comfort her, "Don't worry Jill. I promise that I won't let anything happen to him."

Slowly, Jill let Metal go, and Cal hoisted Metal up and carried him off.

"…no more…"

Cowpoke looked back at Jill and she was quivering, crying and looking like she could fall apart. "Stop it Sage, please…" Jill spoke, looking in desolation at Sage. "…I…I can't handle seeing this again… please…"

Cowpoke could see Jill was really distraught about this, and after everything that he saw, he could totally understand now why she was the way she was. Metal Sonic, who was once a killing machine made by Eggman… took the heaviest sacrifice for her that no one else would've made…

Sage looked at Jill with a sad look, before she nodded. "...alright... I suppose he's seen enough..." she mused, before she waved her arm once more; with that, the vision faded away.

They were back in that cozy cabin again, to silence and solitude…

…but the air in the room now had changed entirely…and after everything that Cowpoke was subjected to, he could feel the air; it was so tense, so sad… Jill still couldn't look at him.

"…what happened…after that?" Cowpoke uttered, looking at Sage.

"...Metal... decided to stay behind in Metropolis." Sage replied. "None of us have seen him since we all left the city... to my knowledge, he's still there, all on his own, while the rest of us tried moving on..."

Cowpoke looked back at Jill again, in silence.

…first, someone took a heavy sacrifice like that…and then she loses Joy's father to robbers…

…now he finally understood her. He understood why she was the way she was, and how truly strong she was, enduring such a long hardship…he couldn't even start on how he felt for her… having his eyes opened so dramatically like that changed the way he looked at Jill…

…but he was uncertain how to even look at her now…

"...well, you got to hear it..." Sage hummed. "...is there anything you're wondering about?"

"…No I…I think all my questions have been answered…" Cowpoke uttered. "…Listen…I'm going to have to head back…" That managed to get Jill to look back up at him, but she still depressed. "…like I said before, I won't tell a soul; not even my buddies or my son," Cowpoke assured.

"...right..." Sage nodded. "...well, see you later, then..."

At that point, someone tried opening the door. "...geez, locking it, too?" A little bit of murmuring was heard, before the door unlocked, and Sonia walked in; though whatever she was about to say instantly stopped when she saw the mood in the room. "...um... did I miss something...?" she uttered.

Cowpoke looked at Sonia with a bit of a sad look. "…oh…sorry for locking the door…" he murmured, walking past her and out the door, leaving.

Sonia blinked, looking from the leaving Cowpoke, to Jill and Sage. "...what happened while I was gone?" she uttered.

"...nothing in particular." Sage murmured, before she began walking out as well. "...you take care now, Jill..." she added, before she left; closing the door behind her.

That left Sonia to just tilt her head a little; not moving from where she stood. "...um... alright...?"

Jill wiped her eyes a little bit and looked up at Sonia.

"...I... figure I shouldn't ask." Sonia uttered, rubbing her neck. "Seems like something heavy, though..." With that, she walked out of the hall, and into the living room. "...Joy's sleeping, right? I guess I can cook you something to eat, unless you feel like resting as well."

Jill did feel hungry…and with that, she looked back down at the ground.

* * *

><p><em>"...I wonder what Metal is doing, all alone in that city. I don't know if Deity is doing anything to him or not, but I couldn't live alone with that horrible monster...not in a thousand years. And even then, I was willing to take that burden instead of letting Metal do it...If Metal was still sane now, living in that city alone with him..."<em>

_"...I hope he is."_

_"...why Metal? Why did you have to take the torture? Had I really had so much of an effect on you that you took such a heavy sacrifice for me?"_

_"...I want to go back to Metropolis. I wish so much to go there...but Joy needs her mother. She is still too young to really be taken anywhere...and I'm afraid of what I might come to if I tried to bring Joy with me. So many things could happen..."_

_"...if something bad happened to Metal, I wouldn't want Joy's tiny eyes to see it. That...and I don't think I could handle it...I had already lost Brick, and I'm just barely coming out of that. If anything happened to Metal..."_

Jill shut her eyes and pushed away the papers and pencil, watching them tangle in the air and land softly. Then she buried her face in her hands and started crying quietly again. She was in her room that night, just herself and Joy fast asleep next to her.

The frustrations of not being able to do well during training mixed with seeing all her memories again were very overwhelming for her. It was hard to make such a big change… she realized why Sage, King and the others were so worried about her…

At that point, someone knocked on the door. "...you awake, Jill?" Sonia called.

Jill's head jerked up in surprise, and she wiped her eyes while she went to open the door.

When she did, Sonia stood there, and rubbed her neck. "...hey, um..." she began, glancing awkwardly to the side. "...I was just wondering if... well, you needed to get something off your chest." she said. "Of course not literally, but... well, you know what I mean..."

Jill gave a small sigh, and wiped her eyes up some more. Then she grabbed the notepad…figuring she would at least talk to Sonia a bit.

…_I was sort of disappointed with how things turned out today… _she wrote.

"...disappointed?" Sonia hummed, tilting her head. "...oh... you mean what happened with Berta." she assumed.

Jill nodded.

"...hrm..." Sonia sighed, rubbing her neck. "...well... the best advice I could give you would be not to get into any future confrontations with her; not until you've gotten some serious training in. With the right techniques, you could slam her into the ground, no sweat."

Jill nodded again, and looked down on the ground.

"...is there something else?" Sonia inquired, looking at Jill with a concerned look. "C'mon; you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else; promise." she said, placing a hand on her own chest to show that she was being sincere.

Jill looked up, and smiled sweetly in appreciation at Sonia… but she wasn't sure what to say to her.

"...man, it'd be a lot more convenient if you could talk, huh..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her neck a bit awkwardly. "...um... well, if you don't feel like talking, I guess I can understand that..."

Jill looked back down at the notepad.

…_well…Sage and Cowpoke were talking and…Cowpoke wanted to know me a little bit…_ Jill wrote. _…some things from my past were brought up…_

"...oh..." Sonia hummed. "...not very pleasant things, I take it?" she assumed.

Jill nodded, and looked back down on the ground again.

"...right... I can get that you wouldn't wanna talk about those kinda things..." Sonia noted, rubbing her chin a bit.

But…letting Sonia know made Jill feel better to some degree… she managed to look back up at Sonia and smile a little bit.

Sonia smiled back at her. "If there's anything ever nagging you, just come and see me. I'll see what I can do to help you out." she said with a nod. Jill nodded back, and reached out to hug her.

Sonia returned that hug, patting Jill on the back as well.

Though being reminded of her whole past again got her thinking…

…_I just have to keep fighting,_ she told herself in her thoughts. _…I have to be tough for Joy…and everyone else that I miss…_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Damn, the nostalgia... XD<em>**


	7. Chapter 7

Since she had started her training, Jill had slowly but surely shown great improvements in the training ring, earning her praise from some of the girls training along with her. Of course, sometimes someone tried egging her on into a fight, but with her increased experience came a certain sense of respect for her; in turn, this led to fewer challenges directed at her.

Eventually, as the snow melted away and spring finally began showing its colors, things seemed like they were going at a good pace.

…and it was time for the men and women in the training to meet and spar…

"...man, there's a lot of us gathered here." Mai commented as she looked around her.

"…there sure are…" Ivory commented, nodding. Then she glanced over…

Jill was sitting with her daughter, smiling at her while she giggled and chattered in her little baby language. Joy was speaking more words, but they were still jumbled up without much understanding of what the words she learned mean…

"...bringing her kid out here... kinda risky, don't you think?" Mai whispered to Ivory.

"…I think now she can handle it," Ivory murmured. "…besides…it's none of our business to say whether or not she can bring her out here; it's her kid."

"...true." Mai nodded. "...I'm just worried if someone like Berta or Trish would start picking on her kid..." Then, she looked around. "...come to think of it... Trish hasn't been around for a while. Have you noticed that?"

"…yeah…" Ivory said. "…but when soldiers disappear, nobody really wants to know what happened to them…"

"...true..." Mai nodded. "...I'm just curious as to what could have driven her away; she _was_ built like a tank, so it wouldn't have been easy to intimidate her..."

"…looks like King's going to talk now," Ivory observed; "…I swear, he likes to hear the sound of his own voice sometimes…"

"...well, he's loud; I suppose that comes with the territory." Mai mused.

"Alright, new recruits of Safe Haven!" King called out to everyone gathered. "For the past months since you arrived here, you've all been through our training program, and you've all performed great! And tomorrow, all that training's gonna come to fruition, when you all pit yourselves against each other; men versus women!" As he said that, there was some cheering from most of the onlookers. "Now, keep in mind; this is all in good fun. No matter who wins, we all walk from this as friends and comrades! But don't let that discourage you from aiming to win! You all got that?"

A good many of the soldiers cheered in response, while others remained silent in indifference… or in Jill's case, she could only smile.

"Alright!" King called. "Now, I want you all to go and introduce yourselves to one another, and then you all have one more day to prepare... because tomorrow, it's the big day! Get pumped! And most importantly, win!"

With that, the large crowd of soldiers scattered.

Ivory glanced to one direction and noticed her brother, Brute, was stomping toward her. "…well, it looks like you haven't been doing too badly on your own," she remarked.

Brute just snorted at her.

"...made any new friends, by any chance?" Mai quipped.

Brute shook his head.

"…hi there…"

Jill looked up quickly, and smiled a little bit when she saw Cowpoke and Mud-Pie standing there, along with their buddies.

"...you look like you're holding up pretty well." Rott mused, as he rubbed his chin. "Training's working out for ya?"

"Obviously, it does." Merde commented.

Jill nodded and smiled some more.

"That's good to hear," Cowpoke said, taking a seat by her. Then he looked at Joy. "Well hi Sugar-doll. How've you been?"

"Dapa ga Mama babah!" Joy squealed.

"Wow, she's gotten better since last I saw her!" Rott commented with a grin.

Smokey stepped up and knelt down by her, and Joy giggled while she toddled to him. "…she can walk too." Smokey grunted.

"...not too bad." Merde commented.

"...to think, she'll be a year old in just a few months..." Rott commented, rubbing his neck. "That's gotta be something, right?"

Jill smiled wide and nodded. She was looking forward to seeing her daughter turn one year old.

"…Excuse me?" Jill looked over and saw Stella walking toward them, smiling at her and waving. Stella smiled at Jill and nodded to her… and it looked like she had a folded piece of paper in her hands. "Cowpoke, someone passed a note to me to give to you," she said, handing it to him.

"Really now?" Cowpoke grew curious and took the note to open it up and read it.

What stood on it were some directions starting from the male training grounds, and a small, scribbled notice underneath said directions.

_Meet me at the end by midnight. Do come on your own._

"…hm…who'd you get this note from?" Cowpoke asked.

"Oh, it was a long line of people that passed that note down," Stella said with a shrug. "I don't know who originally wrote the note…"

"...I wonder what it's about." Rott remarked, glancing at the note. "Who'd wanna see someone in the middle of the night, and why?"

"…No idea," Cowpoke muttered, folding up the note and putting it away. "…but one thing's for sure; I find it suspicious…"

…_and so do I…_ Ivory thought in remark after overhearing it. She glanced at Stella too, who went ahead and walked away. When she thought no one was looking at her, she had a strange look on her face. It was suspicious indeed… and Ivory kept that note to herself.

* * *

><p>But like the note requested, Cowpoke set off that night without anyone seeing him, and he followed the directions that were entailed on the note. The directions were confusing, to say the least. They seemed to curl just about everywhere, until eventually; Cowpoke had wandered far away from any buildings nearby; simply wandering through the woods until a clearing became visible.<p>

"Who the fuck wrote these?" Cowpoke grumbled. "Somebody here has no sense of direction…"

When he ventured into the clearing, however, he'd see something else. Before him was a fairly sizeable manor, with lights on in the window. Even so, no one seemed to be around, and the area was deathly silent...

Cowpoke looked up at this, and his eyes sharpened, tossing the note away. "…suspicious indeed…" he grunted with a gruff murmur.

At that point, he could hear some chuckling... from behind him.

Cowpoke's eyes widened and he spun around to look. "Who's there?"

The moment he did that, however, something suddenly coiled around his arms and legs; completely restraining him.

"...hello... Cowpoke," a familiar, sultry voice chuckled.

"…Hex…" Cowpoke growled and tried to struggle out of it. However, the more he struggled, the tighter Hex's tentacles constricted him.

"...miss me?" Hex chuckled, as she slowly approached Cowpoke. "I'm going out on a limb and guessing 'no' on that."

"Now what the hell do you think yer doin'?" Cowpoke growled again, glaring at her.

"...payback." Hex chuckled, placing a hand on Cowpoke's cheek. "I don't take lightly to being humiliated by the likes of you... so I figured that I'd show you the consequences."

"You think you can actually lay down the law, here?" Cowpoke grumbled. "Listen Hex; I'm not afraid of you."

"...oh, you should be." Hex hummed. "Because, my poor, delusional pound puppy... I know that you're not so tough." she chuckled.

"What're you talkin' 'bout?" Cowpoke questioned.

"Oh, you can drop the act, now. No one's here to judge you, aside from me." Hex chuckled, tapping Cowpoke's nose. "I know that beneath the tough-looking exterior, there's this insecure little dog who's afraid of committing himself... especially after marrying and being divorced at such a young age."

Cowpoke's eyes widened.

"…now you listen here, you _bitch_," he snarled. "I don't go puttin' my nose in whatever business you have…just what gives you the right to do the same?"

"...aside from making you pay for making me look like a fool? Not much." Hex retorted. "Now, drop the tough-boy act; I'd like for you to start showing me how insecure you really _can_ be."

"I'm not the kind that roll's over for anybody, Hex," Cowpoke grunted; "and 'specially not to the likes of you."

Hex narrowed her eyes a bit. "...alright; if it comes to that..." she sighed, folding her arms, "...you know, you took about 30 minutes getting here... leaving little Mud-Pie on his own at night for that long? Not a clever idea."

Cowpoke's eyes flared up in a bitter glare at her. "Why you dirty little-!" and he tried to struggle again to hurt Hex.

However, the tentacles still kept him at bay. Hex instantly began laughing loudly. "Oh, that's just priceless!" she cackled, before she shook her head. "...relax; my men haven't kidnapped him... _yet._" As she said that, she pushed her finger against Cowpoke's chest. "Whether or not they _do_ kidnap him depends on you being willing to do one of two things."

Cowpoke bit his tongue, still glaring at her.

"...the two things you can do to save your son are as follows." Hex began. "One; you can show me just how insecure you are in my personal chambers..." Then, she grinned. "...mmmh... or... you can give me Jill."

Hearing that touched a personal nerve on Cowpoke.

"…you're not going to put a _**fucking**_ tentacle on Jill, you hear me?" he snarled hatefully at her.

Hex still chuckled. "And what are you gonna do about it if I do? Aim your empty shotgun at me again?" she taunted. "Besides, I won't lay a tentacle on her... unless, of course, you figure that saving yours and your son's skin is more important than letting Jill off the hook."

Cowpoke clenched his teeth. "…how _dare_ you make me choose like that…"

"...well, that's what I do to cover my bases." Hex chuckled. "Either I break you within the walls of my manor... or I force you to betray the new woman you love." Then, she grinned wickedly. "...either way... _I win._"

Cowpoke kept silent, still glaring at this woman.

…_there's no way in hell I'll let her touch my son, _he thought.

…then images of all the things Sage showed him over wintertime went through his head. _…but…Jill's suffered enough…I can't let Hex do what she wants to her…_ He looked away from Hex in shame. "…just…get it over with," he uttered. "…as long as you don't touch my son, or Jill…"

Hex grinned. "...oh, this is going to be _fun_." With a chuckle, Hex began pulling Cowpoke towards her manor; the tentacles coiling even tighter around him now. Cowpoke felt pretty trapped, and he knew that this would make a hard hit on his pride and dignity… but it was better than seeing his loved ones suffer.

…while he was being helplessly dragged away, two figures popped their faces out of the brush.

"…I figured that it would be Hex," Ivory muttered.

"...good intuition," Mia commented. "We shouldn't dawdle."

"Right," Ivory nodded. "Hopefully, Brute's awake and making sure none of Hex's goons get near the boy…" and they both shrank away into the forest, running quickly.

* * *

><p>They ran in a straight path, and it didn't take them as long as it could have to reach Sonia's cabin. Quickly, Mia knocked on the door. It also didn't take long for the door to open, and a bewildered Jill stood before them, wiping her eyes.<p>

"I understand it's late for you," Ivory said. "But we've got some really bad news, and we're short on time."

"_Really_ short," Mia shot in, rubbing her neck. "...it's Cowpoke. Hex snatched him."

Jill gasped and became wide awake. That must have been the reason for the note that he got earlier today.

"So what I need to know is if you care about him enough to save him," Ivory spoke.

Jill gave her a strong look, and nodded with a glare.

"Mia, you stay here and make sure nobody takes Joy," Ivory said, before she and Jill took back off into the woods.

"Right; you two be careful!" Mia called after them.

Ivory had gotten a head start before Jill, but in minutes she had not only caught up, but started to run a lot faster than her, with an intently focused look.

Ivory watched her with interest thoughtfully. _…guess all those laps we ran around the jungle are paying off for you, huh Condit?_ Hell, throughout the training when the soldiers ran laps, this woman would be at the front of everyone and no matter what, she would push herself beyond her limit.

* * *

><p>It took even less time this time around to get back to the manor. The door seemed slightly ajar, meaning that Hex had been so eager that she hadn't thought of locking the door.<p>

Ivory chuckled at that. "You gotta love sometimes how careless Hex can be when she's focused on her work…" Her and Jill tip toed right up to it, creaking it open some more. "…you haven't been in Hex's manor, Condit, so you'd be better off following me," she said, and Jill nodded in reply.

So they rushed inside quickly and quietly.

Running through the halls, they eventually came to a flight of stairs leading further down into the manor; though the lights seemed to have been shut off down there.

"…stay close," Ivory told Jill, while they tip-toed down the stairs.

The further down they went, the darker it got; though, they'd also began hearing pained moans and subdued groans coming from wherever the stairs were leading to. "…this place is so vile…" Ivory groaned, and Jill agreed with another nod.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, it was practically pitch-black, and the voices grew louder; as if they were scattered all across the room they were in.

"Let me get the lights…" Ivory spoke. "But be warned, Condit… you're not going to like what you see…"

The moment Ivory switched the lights on, Jill would see why; all around them, rows upon rows with cells were filling the room up. All of them were filled with several Mobians, both male and female, and all of them looking seriously abused.

Jill eyes widened and she became horrified at what she was looking at.

"…never leave yourself alone with Hex," Ivory spoke, taking her by the shoulder and walking her by the cells. "…you might never see the light of day again…"

As they walked by the cells, some of them weakly glanced up at them, while others just ignored them; being too broken to even glance anywhere but at the ground.

One of the prisoners, however, suddenly grabbed the bars of her cell, and shook it desperately. "Y-you guys gotta get me out of here!" a certain familiar cougar pleaded. "I can't take much more of that octo-bitch! Please, help me out!"

"Well, if it isn't Trish," Ivory said, folding her arms. "We wondered where you went to…"

"Look, you can shove the sarcasm; right now, I'm begging you to let me go free!" Trish pleaded. "She's kept me in here for too long, and she's spent one night with me; that's too much for me! Please, just break me out of here!"

"You think you have it bad, Trish?" Ivory continued. "There are other soldiers here that have had to endure Hex much longer than you…some of them are lucky if they're able to escape here."

Jill looked at Ivory nervously…

Trish began looking more desperate now. "...b-but most of 'em are too broken to even get on their own feet!" she sputtered. "Hell, I could feel it that one night she took me in... it nearly broke my mind in two! I can't take another night like that! Please, just let me get outta here!"

Ivory only blinked at her, and then she looked at Jill. "Well, what do you think? Should we let her out?"

Jill looked back at Trish, mostly out of sympathy.

Trish looked back at Jill pleadingly. "...please..."

Unlike Ivory, Jill knew how Trish felt… and so, she grabbed the cell door and yanked it open.

Ivory looked at Jill in shock. "You're sacrificing time that could be used to find Cowpoke!"

"...Cowpoke...?" Trish uttered, as she quickly scrambled out of her cell. "...I heard Hex take someone upstairs. If you're looking for him, he's bound to be in Hex's bedroom... with... Hex."

Jill gasped again, staring at Trish when she said that… but then she looked at the other cells…

She suddenly started yanking open even more of the cell doors so that those in the cells could come out. "What do you think you're doing?" Ivory screamed at her. "They're too lost to be saved!"

But Jill ignored her, walking into the cells and helping the soldiers each onto their feet to walk them out.

Trish just blinked. "...you..." she uttered, tilting her head. "...you're... gonna save them... regardless?"

"…I don't believe it…" Ivory muttered.

Jill came to them then, and pointed to the slaves while she looked at them. Ivory was appalled, "What? You want us to take them away from here, so you can go against Hex by yourself?" When Jill nodded, Ivory grabbed her by her collar. "Okay Condit! I can respect that you're an honorable warrior, but that idea's _ludicrous!"_

Trish just looked from the slaves, before she looked at Jill... and her eyes narrowed. "...hell no." she uttered. "I'm not letting you go against her on your own." Then, she pounded her hand against her own chest. "...I'll show you where that bitch is. It's a huge manor, so you could end up getting lost and running into her henchmen if you're on your own... but I've been there before." Then, she looked at Ivory. "You take the others outta here."

"…that's more like it," Ivory spoke, letting go of Jill. "You two better be careful…" and she pushed the slaves away from them.

Jill then looked at Trish.

"...just follow me." Trish uttered, as she began heading for the stairs. However, she was visibly hindered by a stumble; as if her leg was broken. In spite of that, she limped towards the stairs, gritting her teeth. Jill not only ran after Trish to follow her, but she took Trish's arm over her shoulder to help Trish walk on.

Giving Jill a nod of appreciation, Trish pressed on; eventually making it up the stairs and through the winding halls again. "...last I remember, it wasn't far from here..."

Jill kept helping her on, hoping that Hex hadn't done anything awful to Cowpoke…

It took some time, not helped by Trish's bad leg, but eventually, they made it to a flight of stairs leading up that Trish stopped by. "...it's here... I remember this." she murmured, before she looked at Jill. "We should hurry."

Jill nodded, and she actually picked Trish off of the ground so that they could rush up the stairs more quickly. The further up they went, the more Trish grimaced; as if memories of being dragged up there flooded through her mind. "...we're almost there... second door to the left." she uttered.

Finally, Jill arrived to the precise door, and with a gulp, she put Trish back down on her feet. She was afraid of what she would find on the other side of that door.

…_oh c'mon. Don't be such a pansy. You've seen worse…_

While that was true, the sights that Jill saw here were still hard for her. She got the nerve to kick open the door, and step in…. with another gasp.

Cowpoke was definitely there. He was lying on the floor with some bruises, seemingly unconscious on the ground from exhaustion of what was done to him and how hard he tried to fight it.

And lying in the large bed, covered by sheets and taking a drag from a long, thin pipe, was Hex, who just eyed Jill with a mild look of surprise. Blowing out a small cloud of smoke, she only uttered a small "oh" in regards to the intruding ewe.

Jill was more concerned about Cowpoke, and she went to kneel down by him to wake him up.

When Cowpoke stirred, and flinched from being awoken, he looked up… and his eyes widened. "…you…y-you shouldn't be here…"

"...well, now..." Hex eventually chuckled, as she slowly rose from the bed, still keeping the sheet wrapped around her body. "...I hadn't expected you to come here, Jill..." When her gaze fell on Trish, her smirk faded. "...you broke her out of her cell, hm?"

"...not just me..." Trish spat, glaring at Hex, "...but everyone else, too, octo-bitch. Ivory's taking them to safety right now."

Hearing that, Hex's eyes widened considerably. "...what... did you say...?"

Jill tried to get Cowpoke to look at her, because she was concerned for him, but Cowpoke just pushed her hands away and continued to look away shamefully. Jill was bewildered and saddened, wondering why in the world he was acting this way…

Shaking her head, Hex looked back at Jill with a smirk again. "...tragic, isn't it? I'd say that I've done fairly well in bringing his insecure side forth; now he can't even bear to look at you." she chuckled.

Jill's look turned into a scowl directed at Hex, standing up.

"...ooh, are we growing defensive?" Hex hummed with a chuckle. "What's the matter? Appalled at what I've done? Then by all means... voice your complaints, Condit."

Trish hissed. "...don't get close to her; if you do, you're done for." she warned.

Jill didn't intend to get snared into the same trap, but she was really mad for what Hex did to Cowpoke… he was kind to her, and he looked out for her when she was vulnerable… she couldn't just let Hex get away with something like this.

So Jill took one of the poles on the bed post… and ripped it right off, shattering the bed apart.

Looking at that, Trish gaped; "..._whoa._"

Hex looked at that with a curious hum. "...ooh, how frightening." she mused, before she took another drag from her pipe. "...now what are you gonna do with that?" she inquired; almost in a bored tone.

Jill threw off her jacket and broke the pole in half over her leg, to make one edge on each piece jagged and sharp with the wood. She even slashed her upper arm a bit to show how sharp they were, and she raised them readily, glaring at Hex.

"...hm." Hex hummed in uninterested, taking another drag from her pipe. "...not really impressed, Condit." she mused dryly.

Jill grit her teeth…

…then she ran forward in an attempt to slash at Hex.

However, when the slashes came, a pair of tentacles suddenly shot out from underneath the sheets, snaring up Jill's wrists. "...rookie mistake, Condit." Hex taunted, as she suddenly smirked. "You'll regret it." Without warning, a third tentacle instantly rocketed from under the sheets; aiming a solid blow directly to Jill's gut.

Trish's eyes widened at that. "Jill!" Hearing Trish cry that out actually got Cowpoke to look up at the scene, and react with a gasp.

Jill tried to get over the blow to the stomach, looking up at Hex with a bitter glare.

"...now what's that look for?" Hex chuckled. "Did I touch a nerve?"

Instantly upon saying that, Hex whipped Jill in the face with one of her tentacles.

"…s-stop it!" Cowpoke uttered, seeing Jill spit out blood to the side from that hit.

"...why?" Hex chuckled. "She asked for it." And she whipped Jill again.

"...Hex... you're making a mistake." Trish uttered.

"I said stop it!" Cowpoke stood up now, gaining some courage.

"...hm." Hex scoffed, as she shot Cowpoke a smirk. "Growing a spine, eh? Why don't you take some whips for her?" she taunted with a smirk.

"...seriously, Hex; you don't want to keep doing this." Trish uttered again.

"And why wouldn't I?" Hex huffed, looking at Trish with a raised eyebrow.

Jill looked back at Hex with a flash of red in her eyes… and a devious, evil looking smirk. Cowpoke actually jumped when he saw that.

Trish gulped. "..._that's_ why!"

Hex blinked at their reactions, before she turned to look back at Jill... and her eyes widened in surprise. "...oh." she uttered again; failing to muster even a shocked tone.

Jill's legs whipped up and grabbed one of the tentacles holding her wrist, yanking her hands out effortlessly and hurling Hex by the tentacle across the room.

"WHOA-" Hex managed to call out before she was slammed mercilessly against the wall.

Jill landed on the ground, smirking at Hex and approaching her while Cowpoke tried to figure out what to do. He knew the magnitude of what was going on, unlike Trish who only just saw what she could do…

Hex let out a cough, though she didn't move from where she had been launched. "...you..." she spat.

Jill didn't give her the chance; she just grabbed Hex by the throat and picked her up to punch her in the face. Taking the punch, Hex spat out some blood as well; "...mmmh... playing it rough, are we?" she coughed, before she actually smirked. "...well, Condit, I can play rough when I want to as well."

Just as she said that, she wrapped two tentacles around Jill, and began harshly constricting the ewe. Jill made no reaction, other than that same evil smirk that she kept giving Hex, even if she looked like she was losing a bit of air.

Cowpoke saw Jill's other hand… or more importantly, her nails. They grew sharp without anyone noticing, not until Jill took one of the tentacles by hand and stabbed the nails right into the tentacle. Instantly, Hex's eyes widened, and she let out a shrill, pained screech. She didn't take well to being stabbed, even if one of her tentacles took the blow. Jill dug her nails in deeply…then she started tearing her nails through the tentacle in deep scars, intending to make Hex let go.

Screaming, Hex desperately uncoiled the tentacle around Jill. "BITCH!" she screamed, before she slammed a tentacle as hard as she could into Jill's gut. Jill grabbed the tentacle before it could, actually stopping the tentacle in place. Her smug, mischievous look grew worse, and she hurled Hex again… out the window this time. The window shattered with a loud crash, and Hex's scream only stopped when they heard her slam against the ground below. What followed were just pained groans coming from her down below.

Trish could only gape at this. "...holy shit." she eventually managed to utter.

It didn't stop there either. Jill went forward and took one of the broken shards of glass into her hands and jumped out the window.

"Wait!" Cowpoke uttered, running to the window. Trish, too, ran towards the window as well.

Jill still smirked at Hex as she approached her with the shard of broken glass, which she wasn't even aware was cutting her own hand. Heaving for air, Hex just shot Jill an actually frightened look, trying desperately to scoot away from the ewe. "S-stay away..." she coughed.

Cowpoke knew by now that he had to step in… so he ran and jumped right out of the window. His landing wasn't perfect, considering that he was still in pain from what Hex did to him, but he got back on his feet quickly enough to run at Jill. "Stop it! You made your point!"

But Jill just shoved him backward onto his back and continued toward Hex.

Looking fearful for her own life, Hex tried crawling away from Jill, but she wasn't getting far soon enough. "D-don't let her near me!" she gasped.

Trish couldn't do much, as she just watched this from the broken window.

Cowpoke just got back on his feet then.

"KNOCK IT OFF CALLOUS!"

And that made Jill stop, and her smirk fade. Hex stopped as well, as she just looked back at Jill with wide eyes.

Jill spun around and gave a dry look at Cowpoke, who glared back at her.

"...what... just happened...?" Hex coughed, breathing more heavily.

Jill tossed away the glass shard, staring at Cowpoke with a look of indifference… and suddenly, she smirked again, spinning and throwing a punch at Hex's face. There wasn't a whole lot Hex could do about that, as Hex instantly fell unconscious to the ground; the punch having completely knocked her out.

Jill looked at Cowpoke with a smirk, and he didn't seem to be amused.

"…give Jill back control, Callous," Cowpoke growled.

"...uh... what're you guys talking about?" Trish uttered, tilting her head a little.

"…Sorry, I can't tell you," Cowpoke said, without looking back at Trish. Then he took a step forward. "Callous, I said give—AAAGH!" and he collapsed.

Jill's eyes flashed green again, and when she saw Cowpoke fall, she frantically went to his side.

"Ah- h-hang on! I'll be right there!" Trish called, before she vanished from view; likely opting to take the stairs rather than jumping out of the window.

Now that it was the real Jill in charge, Cowpoke didn't look back up at Jill again; he was still ashamed of himself. "…Callous…took over you and she whopped Hex somethin' bad…" he uttered, just to explain to her what was going on.

Jill only kept looking at Cowpoke worriedly.

"…Hex…she lured me out here with that note," Cowpoke started. "…she got me pinned and told me that I was gonna suffer some consequences for humiliatin' her… if I defied her, she woulda taken my boy… or she woulda dun somethin' to you."

Jill's eyes widened in more understanding now at what Cowpoke said. She couldn't believe that Cowpoke cared that much about her… that he sacrificed his pride and dignity to make sure that no one touched her. She was still furious that Hex used him like that… but she was even more worried that Hex might have done more to him than he braced himself for.

…she took him by the chin and turned his face to look up at her. This time, Cowpoke didn't turn away, but he did look sad.

"…I…I don't know what to say, Jill…" Cowpoke uttered. "…I…I couldn't let Hex do anything to my son, or you, or Joy for that matter…you've been through so much…" finally he turned away again. "…and…I remember you tellin' me that it was insultin' to you for not having much faith in yer abilities to protect yourself…but I just wanted to protect you because I care about you, a lot…"

Jill kept looking at Cowpoke, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"…I think about you a bunch…" Cowpoke admitted. "…and Joy…and how much I wanna help you guys out…and I think about how much I want to be around you two…"

Jill actually started to blush hearing this. Was Cowpoke… confessing feelings?

"…but… neither of us… could handle getting involved with each other…" Cowpoke uttered. "…Hex took advantage of the fact that I had no courage to tell you how I feel… and after what you went through… I don't want to cause you any trouble, or make it harder for you after losing somebody you loved…"

Jill's brows arched. Then she blushed even more when Cowpoke touched her hand. "…you… you don't have to do anything…" he uttered. "…all I wanted to do was let you know that I…that I…well…"

"…that I love ya…and I would do anything to protect you and Joy."

Jill kind of froze right there, when she heard that.

At that point, Trish came limping from around the corner of the manor; looking at both Jill and Cowpoke with somewhat relieved eyes; but when she felt the atmosphere in the air, she stopped. "...what just..." she accidentally blurted out.

Jill's head jerked over and saw Trish, and that caused her to stand up and pull Cowpoke onto his feet, changing focus.

Trish just blinked a bit. "...um... did I come around at a bad time...?" she uttered.

Jill wasn't sure how to answer that; she just looked at Cowpoke, who still refused to look back at her.

"…let's…just get out of here…" he muttered.

Trish just blinked, before she eventually nodded. "...right... we should all head home..." she murmured.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the infirmary was full of Hex's escaped slaves…<p>

"...man, this is a lot to deal with..." Miser sighed in slight disdain; with so many to deal with, her and Ripper were basically completely booked.

"Kekeke... at least we can help these guys." Ripper noted.

"…You guys need some help?" Next thing they knew, Cowpoke walked into the infirmary with Mud-Pie by the hand.

"...a little, yes." Miser said with a nod to Cowpoke. "Thanks."

Cowpoke nodded, letting go of Mud-Pie's hand and immediately going to tend to one of the slaves.

"...man... they're gonna need all the help they can get." Ripper commented, as he began tending to another slave.

"I'll say..." Miser murmured.

"…hey Dad, is there any way I can help?" Mud-Pie asked Cowpoke.

"…not sure…" Cowpoke muttered…

…then he turned around, and stopped short.

Others walked into the infirmary too, like Ani and Hunter, Ivory, Mia, Brute… and he saw Jill and Joy walk in too.

"...well... this is a surprise." Miser blinked upon seeing all of them.

"Aren't you all sparring today?" Ripper inquired.

"...we figured that we could give up one day to help out here." Mai replied. "This seems a bit more urgent, in our eyes."

"…yeah…your hands would be full with all of this if we didn't help," Ivory nodded.

"And we can give them some good counseling while we're at it," Ani said with a smile.

Jill nodded in agreement, smiling at Cowpoke, while Joy toddled in and gave Mud-Pie a hug.

"...well... the more the merrier, as they say! Kekekekeke!" Ripper chuckled.

Miser smiled a bit, before she nodded. "...alright. Thanks, you guys."

"So, what're we standing around for? Let's get started." Mai shot in.

They scattered quickly, picking some of the slaves to start attending to. Hunter glanced over and saw Jill come over to the same slave that Cowpoke was attending to, helping him with that. When she smiled at Cowpoke again, Cowpoke managed a small smile in return.

Hunter heard what happened to Cowpoke, and seeing him smile after an experience like that was something to be thankful for. He smiled himself, and went back to tend to the slaves.

* * *

><p>"...DAMN IT!" The sound of glass shattering would ring all over Hex's manor, as she was once again hurling empty wine bottles at the wall. "It's not fair! It's just not fair!" As she was lying in bed, with a few bandages wrapped around one of her tentacles, Hex was sure as hell not pleased with what had happened the night before.<p>

That was when there was a knock at her door.

Instantly, her mood soured even further. "Who the hell is it?" she spat, glaring at the door.

"Madame…Mr. Raider is here to see you," spoke Koopman through the door.

"...ugh... come to mock me, I bet..." Hex murmured bitterly. "...fine. Send him in."

Koopman opened the door, allowing Raider to step into the room, and then he closed it behind him. Raider folded his arms. "I'm going to take that things didn't go like you planned?"

"...on the contrary." Hex murmured. "Someone must've seen me bring Cowpoke into my manor, because about an hour later, all of my slaves had been freed, I was tossed out of my window, and Cowpoke didn't end up as the broken husk I wanted him to become..." Then, she grit her teeth hatefully. "...all because of that damn ewe..."

"…what? She the one that tossed you out your window?" Now Raider was truly intrigued.

"...yeah..." Hex murmured. "And if it hadn't been for Cowpoke, she'd have killed me, too." With that, she looked away with a scowl. "...damn red-eyed menace..."

"…red eyes you say…?" Raider mused, rubbing his chin.

"...yeah; she just got them when I tried beating her into submission." Hex murmured, before she winced. "Ngh... and she stabbed one of my tentacles with her nails... that still hurts..."

"…right…" Raider murmured, looking away in thought.

"...gnh..." With a mild whimper, Hex slowly sat up to look at Raider. "...you know... Cowpoke did mention a name, before that ewe suddenly punched me out..."

"…what's that?" Raider snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Hex.

Looking back at Raider, Hex folded her arms. "...I _would_ tell you... but I feel exceptionally sour today. What can you do to make it better for me?"

"…well, maybe I could make a guess on what name Cowpoke said," Raider said, chuckling. "…that name wouldn't happen to be Callous, would it?"

Hex's eyes widened a bit, before she pouted. "...great; you already knew it," she murmured. "Now how am I supposed to get my mind off my bad mood?"

"…I think you're missing the point, Hex," Raider chuckled. "…our cowboy friend seems to know things about Jill that most people don't…"

Hex blinked a bit at hearing that, before she looked at Raider. "...you know... you have a point..." she uttered.

"…he might even know the secrets to the ever surrounding mystery of her," Raider mused.

"...ngh..." Hex grunted, as she rubbed her neck. "...and how do you propose we get it out of him?"

"…I have my own ways of doing that…" Raider came over and put his hands on the broken bed post. "Tell you what, Hex. Since information is involved, I just might agree to be your grunt to carry out another try of revenge in your place…"

"...really?" Hex hummed in interest. "...now that's just too kind of you. I might just have to reward you for doing a good job, Raider..."

Raider groaned. "No thanks. You don't have to do that. My own reward is whatever information I find…"

Hex pouted. "...aaw... and I _wanted_ to "reward" somebody... but an entire cellar without slaves makes that quite difficult at the moment..."

"Why not just grab Stella and use her again?" Raider grumbled dryly. "There's always fresh meat out there for you…"

Hex grumbled. "..._Stella_..." she murmured with a snarl. "...that's right... I bet the reason someone spotted me pulling him in was because she didn't give the note to him while he was all alone..." Then, she suddenly got out of bed. "...you can go and handle Cowpoke and Jill, Raider. Right now, I have cells to fill up again... starting with that little bird."

"Alright," Raider muttered. "Later then; I've got work to do…" and he turned to leave as soon as possible.

Hex let out a brief hiss, as she looked towards the shattered window. When Raider was gone, she folded her arms. "...Koopman!"

"…yes, Madame?" Koopman asked.

"...I want you to corner Stella when she's on her own, knock her out however you see fit, and then bring her to me." Hex hummed. "After that, call together three of your associates, and pick up some wayward soldiers. I need more than one slave to keep me company tonight..."

"…as you wish," Koopman said with a nod. "…will that be all?"

"...for the moment, yes," Hex replied. "Now get moving."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Uh-oh 0o...<em>**


	8. Chapter 8

Stella was just sitting in the forest, looking at the ground guilty. Not only did she know what she was doing when she handed Cowpoke that note that Hex wrote, but word spread quickly about what happened last night…

…not only was she guilty for what trouble she caused Cowpoke, but now she was afraid…

"...hey," At that point, someone stomped their foot down right behind Stella; giving her a glare.

Stella jumped and looked up in fear.

Behind her was a large, female vulture, who suddenly grabbed Stella with a grunt. "Come along; don't make too much noise about it..."

"NO!" Stella pried free from her and started running away frantically.

However, the vulture quickly snatched Stella by the legs, gritting her teeth. "Don't make this any tougher than it has to be!" she grunted.

"No! Don't take me back to _her!_ Please!" Stella screamed.

"...sorry; it's either you or me. And quite frankly, I'm _glad_ that Hex hasn't put her tentacles on me yet." the vulture huffed. "Besides, you've already been with her once. One more time shouldn't be as different." Then, she began dragging Stella away.

"Help! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!" Stella yelped, trying to grab onto tree roots sticking out of the ground. "Don't let her take me away!"

"Oh, quit your screaming; no one's gonna hear you, any..." the vulture began, when she glanced back... and she blinked. "...hn?"

Stella wondered why she stopped, and she looked too.

As it turned out, up in the sky above them, something seemed to descend towards them... very rapidly.

"…I…I think we need to move out of the way!" Stella uttered.

"...I think you're right!" the vulture sputtered, as she quickly grabbed Stella, and began running off.

However, the object kept falling towards them quite rapidly, and even as they ran, it kept getting closer.

"IT'S GOING TO LAND ON US!" Stella panicked.

"Not on my watch!" the vulture cried out, as she clutched Stella tightly, before looking back at the object. Just before it would've landed on them, she dove out of the way; saving them from being crushed. Though, that didn't save them from being pushed quite a few feet away when the object slammed into the ground behind them.

Stella tried to look back. "What IS that?"

"Hell if I know!" the vulture retorted, as she shot a look back at the object as well.

Then Stella realized the situation she was in. She pried away from the vulture quickly, and then she went toward the object to find out what it was.

"Ah- HEY!" Quickly, the vulture tried grabbing Stella. "Are you nuts, or something? You don't know... what that..." Whatever the vulture was about to say just sort of stopped, as she looked at the object.

To their surprise, it seemed a lot like a capsule of sorts, and a big one, at that. There seemed to be a door at the front, but no apparent way of opening it.

Stella looked it all over in wonder. "I've never seen anything like it…"

"...where the hell did it come from...?" the vulture uttered, tilting her head a bit.

In that instant, steam suddenly shot out from the door, and machinery began coming to life; it seemed like it was opening.

Stella jumped with a gasp. "...oh, geez..." the vulture uttered, as the door slowly slid open, with steam making it impossible to see who was inside of it.

"…H-hello?" Stella called, shaking like a leaf in the wind. There was no answer, as the steam began dissipating.

"...uh, Stella? Quick deal, okay?" the vulture uttered a bit nervously. "I tell Hex that you were with King and his troupe all day, and in return, you stay with whatever's in there. Deal? Deal." Instantly, she tossed Stella to the ground, and quickly ran off in fear.

"Hey! WAIT!" Stella uttered, getting back to her feet.

When she did, however, a stomp was heard, as something stepped out of the capsule. _**"...identify yourself."**_ a low, booming, mechanical voice called.

Stella gasped again, and she became too frozen to move when she saw what came out of the capsule.

Rather than just one being, two emerged from it; one of them about as tall as she was, and the other towering over both of them; looking down at Stella with a pair of glowing, red eyes.

Stella gawked at the one that was her size. "…y-you…" she trembled, seeing them. "…you're supposed to be d-dead!"

"...let me make this brief." that being uttered, folding his arms. "...where is Jillian Condit?"

* * *

><p>"…well, that's all we can do for them today," Ani said. "Why don't you guys go ahead and take off?"<p>

"…yeah, sure," Cowpoke muttered.

"Sounds like a plan." Mai hummed. "Ivory, you coming with?"

"Yeah," Ivory said. "…C'mon Brute."

Brute only offered a grunt, and the three of them walked outside, with Cowpoke, Mud-Pie, Jill and Joy following outside.

"...alright... anyone got any other plans for the day?" Mai asked out of the blue, glancing back at the others.

"Let's go training for the battles," Ivory murmured. "…I just need to get my mind off of all this business that happened last night…" Then she looked back at Jill. "…how about you Condit? Planning on even putting _any_ time to some training?"

Jill looked at Ivory for a bit, and then she looked at Cowpoke. She and Cowpoke looked at each other for a bit, and he eventually looked at Ivory. "…you guys go ahead…"

"WAIT!"

They all flinched and looked in one direction, seeing Stella running their way.

"...now what?" Mai blinked, as she tilted her head.

Stella stopped to catch her breath. "You…you…there's somebody that…wants to see you…" Stella huffed. When she finally did catch her breath, she took Jill by the shoulders. "S-somebody wants to see you!"

Jill looked shocked, while both Cowpoke and Ivory looked at Stella suspiciously. "What do you mean somebody wants to see her?" Ivory asked.

"I mean that someone wants to see her!" Stella uttered. "L-look, I can't explain it! Just follow me and I'll show you-!"

"—Now hold on just a cotton pickin' minute," Cowpoke growled, prying away Stella's hands off of Jill.

"You think we're gonna fall for the same thing again?" Mia scoffed, as she stepped closer to Stella to give her a glare.

"…w-wha?" Stella stepped back a bit.

"Oh don't play stupid Stella," Ivory grumbled. "You were the one that gave Cowpoke the note. You think we'd really-?" Ivory jumped then and so did Jill when Cowpoke grabbed Stella by the collar.

"…why…?" there was pure hate dripping from Cowpoke's tone as he gave a murderous glare at Stella. She shook severely in his grip, and Mud-Pie got scared enough that he hid behind Jill's leg.

This turned the others pretty speechless, as they just looked at the two of them.

"…you…you're the one that put me through that…" Cowpoke snarled, scaring Stella and Mud-Pie even more.

Jill finally stepped in, pulling Cowpoke's hands away from Stella gently. It was definitely enough to steal his attention, and when he saw how frightened his boy was, he gave a sad sigh.

"Seriously Stella; why should we trust you?" Ivory threw in.

"...you're gonna need something better than that to win us over, after what happened last night." Mai noted.

"…but…but it's not like before…" Stella uttered. "…this capsule thing fell out of the sky and…and these two came out of it and…"

"…it sounds like you're just making things up now," Ivory scoffed, turning away from her.

"No! I'm not making this up!" Stella uttered. "One of them looked like one of those robots that came from Dr. Eggman a long time ago!"

Jill flinched when she heard that one; it stole her attention immediately, and she placed her hands on Stella shoulders, looking at her. "...wait, Jill; don't tell me that you're actually buying this?" Mai uttered with a bewildered look.

Jill only glanced at Mia, and then looked back at Stella. Then she nudged her head for Stella to lead the way. "…O-okay!" Stella said, turning and running with Jill following very closely.

"Mama!" Joy tried toddling after her, and that's when Brute scooped up her and Mud-Pie and ran after them.

"Looks like we don't have a choice!" Cowpoke growled, running as well. "I swear Stella, if you try to hurt them!"

"...tsch..." With a hiss, Mia ran after them as well. Ivory looked at all of them running, and shrugged. Then she ran as well.

* * *

><p>Stella led them all the way into the woods, and for a while, they didn't see anything worth their time. Even when Stella stopped and the rest of them caught up, they didn't see anything immediately.<p>

"Robot made by Eggman? Yeah right!" Cowpoke grabbed Stella again. "I don't like anybody that fibs to hurt people!"

"W-wait!" Stella uttered. "They said they'd be here!"

"Well, there's no one here but us." Mia scoffed. "What're you pulling, this time?"

"...you know, you shouldn't be that rough with her."

Jill recognized that voice, and a large smile broke out when she took a look, while the rest of them became shocked. Standing not too far from them were two beings; one of them being a large, bulky, red robot, while the other was an alarmingly familiar black hedgehog, who looked at Jill with a small smile. "...long time, no see." he hummed.

"…n-no way!" Ivory uttered. "…Shadow the Hedgehog? But you were…"

Cowpoke let Stella go. "…that's not Shadow," he muttered. "…that's an android…"

Jill went over to the android and knelt down to hug him warmly. The android, in return, hugged her back.

"...wait, what's going on here?" Mia uttered. "How does Jill know that android... and why does he look like Shadow?"

Cowpoke sighed. "…it's a long story…believe me," he muttered.

Ivory gave him a look of wonder, but she looked away when Brute set Mud-Pie and Joy down and Joy started to walk toward the android and the large robot.

The robot looked down at them.

Eventually, the android looked at them as well. "...now who are you?" he hummed, looking at Joy.

"Abababa…" Joy babbled cheerfully, hugging the android too.

"…that's Joy," Cowpoke said. "…she's Jill's daughter."

"...your daughter, huh..." the android hummed when he looked back at Jill. "...I see..." Then, he looked back at Joy with a smile. "...my name's Proxy. This is Omega."

The robot, Omega, slowly crouched down as he looked at Joy.

"…Omega?" Ivory uttered. "You really ARE a robot made by Eggman!"

"Told you!" added Stella.

"…Poxy! Poxy!" Joy said, giggling.

"...close enough." Proxy hummed with a chuckle.

"...uh... can I ask a question?" Mai uttered, raising her hand. "..._how_ does Jill know these two?"

_**"...it's a long story."**_ Omega said bluntly.

"…if you knew them…" Ivory slowly turned to look at Jill in some disbelief. "…just who the hell are you Condit?"

Jill looked back at her, and shrugged.

"…is there a reason you came down here?" Cowpoke asked them. "Why did you need to see Jill again?"

"...we needed to see her regarding something important." Proxy hummed, as he looked at Jill again. "I suppose we'll have to postpone catching up on what has happened for a later time."

_**"The current situation is stable; however, it could easily become unstable if we linger for too long." **_Omega shot in.

"What're you talkin' 'bout?" Cowpoke asked, folding his arms.

Proxy sighed. "...I don't know how... but something broke free from the ARK." he said. "And if we're not mistaken... it's landed on this very island."

"You mean, _THE_ Space Colony ARK?" Stella sounded shocked at that. "So THAT's why you fell out of the sky!"

Jill looked back at them with an intrigued and wary look. She remembered Tails telling her that Professor Gerald was a man of science, and Shadow wasn't the only experiment that he ran… he had run numerous other experiments, and when they first came to the ARK, all of the experiments had broken out…

…they must have meant that one of his experiments broke out, and landed here on the island.

"…what is it?" Cowpoke asked. "What landed here on the island?"

"...a certain creature." Proxy replied quickly, folding his arms. "I'll explain in greater detail, but... perhaps we should find a more fitting place to carry this conversation out?"

Jill nodded in response to Proxy's question, and she nudged her head for them to follow her, whisking up her daughter in her arms and starting to walk away. Proxy and Omega began walking after her as well.

Mia blinked, as she looked at the others. "...should we follow them?"

"…nah…let's leave them alone," Ivory said. "After all, it's not really any of our business…" She looked over at Cowpoke. "…what about you? You seem to know what's really going on…"

Cowpoke watched as Jill, Joy, Omega and Proxy walked away. He wondered if he really should get involved in this whole thing… if he did, that meant he'd have to ask his buddies to look after Mud-Pie to make sure nothing happened to him, but with all those battles going on, they'd be busy with their own thing…

…and while he was still getting over the trauma of what happened last night, he knew that he didn't ask to know Jill's past for no reason whatsoever.

"…C'mon Mud-Pie," he said, taking his son's hand and walking after them.

Ivory noticed out of the corner of her eye that Stella was tip-toeing away from them. She nudged her head to Brute, who also saw and grabbed Stella, making her yelp. "Now just where do you think you're going?" Ivory questioned Stella.

"W-what?" Stella uttered.

"...you still got some explaining to do." Mia commented, as she stepped closer to Stella.

"Like where did you _really _get that note?" Ivory asked her.

Stella became very nervous and looked away from Ivory.

"...c'mon; out with it." Mia hummed, grabbing Stella by the chin so she could direct her gaze back at Ivory.

Stella looked like she could cry right then and there. "….y-you guys have t-to understand…I never really wanted to h-hurt anybody…"

"Too late for that," Ivory grumbled. "Now out with it…"

"…I-I…got the note straight from H-Hex…" Stella confessed.

"...why?" Mia inquired, narrowing her eyes.

"…I've been…d-doing errands for her…" Stella shut her eyes while a few tears rolled down her face. "…b-because I…I was trying to protect myself…s-she promised me that i-if I did these things for her, she would l-leave me alone…"

Brute grunted in response.

"...hmph." Mia scoffed.

"…pretty pathetic if you ask me…" Ivory murmured.

"…you wouldn't know…" Stella sobbed. "…you haven't been preyed on by Hex and her sick, twisted desires…"

Ivory still glared at her, but in the back of her mind, she remembered the slaves she saw in the cells, and how lost they all seemed. Most soldiers on the island even knew that Hex had slaves, but none of them were either bold enough to try and safe them or they left them there so that Hex didn't take other soldiers to use. It was practical choice…

…and here comes Jill, where she was willing to save all of them, even if they couldn't be saved…she seems way too naïve…and yet…

"...hrm." Mia hummed. "...now that all of them's been freed... you think you'll be safe from her now?"

Stella's eyes opened wide. "Oh please! Don't throw me back to her! Please!"

"...that's not what I said, you doof." Mia huffed, lightly whacking Stella over her head. "What I'm saying is that Hex is gonna be looking for a scapegoat for what happened to her last night; and you're the most likely candidate. Working errands for her ain't gonna help you any longer."

"…I know that much…" Stella uttered. "…one of her associates tried to grab me… and that's when the capsule fell down with that robot and that android…"

"…at least your story sounds more consistent now," Ivory remarked.

"...right." Mia hummed, folding her arms. "...so, what do you plan on doing now?"

"…I…I don't know…" Stella uttered. "…anytime…anytime I'm alone…I'll be taken again…"

"...hrm..." With a hum, Mia glanced at Ivory. "...what do you think?"

Ivory started to think again. If this were back then when they first came here, Ivory would let Stella go to be alone unless she had money… but over the course of training, she's gotten over the idea of money; and watching Jill train certainly changed her perspective…

"…for now…you're going to stick with us, until we decide on what to do with you," Ivory said. "After all, you still caused a bit of chaos with that note…we'd have to report you to King for that…"

Stella looked down on the ground. "…I understand…"

"...well, at least that'd be better than the alternative." Mia noted. "C'mon, let's get going."

* * *

><p>"Proxy!" Ani exclaimed, hugging the android. "I haven't seen you in forever!"<p>

"It certainly has been a while." Proxy chuckled, as he hugged Ani back. "You've grown."

_**"It's quite a change from when we last met."**_ Omega shot in.

"Man…to think that you guys crashed down from the ARK," Hunter murmured.

"I have to say, I didn't see that coming." Sage remarked with a slight chuckle.

"So, how's life been treating ya on the ARK, anyway?" King hummed, folding his arms. "It's gotta get lonely up there, right?"

"I can't really complain." Proxy shrugged. "There's a lot of data hidden aboard the ARK that hasn't seen the light of day before; managing it keeps me occupied."

"Well, at least you're all doing fine, kekeke." Ripper noted.

"I wonder what it's like there up on the ARK," Ani said, growing excited. "If anything, I bet that me and the boys would have a BLAST exploring the place!"

Jill smiled at the idea, while Cowpoke watched all this in amusement.

"Oh, if you guys weren't machines, we should've thrown together a celebratory feast, or something." Miser remarked.

_**"We appreciate the thought, at least."**_ Omega said in response.

"...hm." Queen hummed, actually smiling a small bit.

"…well, we shouldn't keep you waiting," Hunter said. "You said that you needed to tell all of us something?"

"...yes." Proxy hummed with a nod. "As I've already told Jill... something broke free from the ARK."

"...just... what did break out?" Miser uttered, blinking curiously.

"...Omega." Proxy eventually said, glancing at the robot. With a nod, the robot's compartment opened up, and Proxy pulled a file from it, which he placed on the counter. "Everything that me and Omega learned about it is written in there."

"...oh, there's a photo, too." Sage hummed, as she looked at the file; which, sure enough, had a photo with some life-form on it.

Everyone came around to look; especially Jill. The photo was in a sepia tone, and it was slightly blurry, but they could see something that was floating in a tank with strange liquid. It looked very alien; black, with red streaks similar to Proxy, but it looked sleek and it had a long body… it looked very similar to Brute in body shape…

…and on its head it wore a mechanical helmet that looked like a dragon's head.

Hunter looked at the file. "…Shadow the Hedgehog wasn't the only experiment Gerald conducted using Black Arms DNA." He read. "This one is called Meta; short for meta-morphisis, which is one of its abilities. While it was in development, it broke loose like many of the other experiments… but unlike the other experiments that acted like savage beasts…this one was capable of intelligent thought. It was the hardest experiment to contain, because it grew to learn things…"

_**"...and now it's loose."**_ Omega uttered. _**"It could be anywhere on the island."  
><strong>_  
>"...thankfully, it hasn't left the island." Proxy hummed, as he folded his arms. "However, if it copies the form of any Mobian, it could easily escape via ship. Therefore, while we search for it, I'd advise you to post-pone all travelling by boat to and from the island, until further notice.<p>

"...right..." King uttered, as he looked at the file. "...what else is written there?"

"…not much," Hunter replied; "Just more rambling on about how this was made… oh wait! It says that this thing may not communicate directly, but it has some telepathic abilities; due to its rapid rate of learning…and since it can take the shape of others, it might even be able to copy abilities…"

Ani gulped. "…what do you think would happen if that thing met Spiel…?"

"NO!" Joy shrieked, stealing the attention. "No no no no!"

Proxy blinked at that. "...who's Spiel?"

"...trouble, if this Meta finds 'im." King uttered. "...we should start searching for it right away."

"Hold on." Sage hummed, as she looked at the file as well. "I wanna see if it says anything else..."

Hunter handed the file to her. "The last thing I read is that it's hard to pin point a weakness because this thing learns from its mistake and adapts…"

Nodding, Sage looked through the file. "...hrm... what else can you do, Meta...?"

While Sage looked on through the file, Jill looked down at Joy, arching her brows for reacting to Spiel's name. Does Joy still have trouble with that…?

…and then she looked toward the door.

"…you okay?" whispered Cowpoke.

Jill nodded, but in reality, she had this feeling in her gut… like they were being watched.

She didn't like this feeling at all, mostly because she was so familiar with the feeling of being watched, thanks to the horrors of Deity Novagod…

Eventually, Sage handed the file back to Proxy, nodding. "...I get it. We should find it as soon as possible."

"I'll contact the captain of the ferry, to tell him not to come around Safe Haven for a while." King said. "In the meantime, you guys begin looking for this Meta-thing."

"Right." Queen nodded. "The island's fairly big, and by this point, Meta might have changed its shape already. We'll look after any suspicious behavior, and Sage would be able to detect any abnormal brain waves close to her."

Humming, Sage glanced at Jill. "...you think you should take Joy home?"

"Me and Omega could escort you, if you'd like." Proxy suggested.

Jill looked back at all of them, and then she looked down at Joy. Joy went to her mother and hugged her legs a bit insecurely, so she picked her up. _…I don't know, _Jill thought, just to respond to Sage.

_...is something the matter?_ Sage hummed curiously.

…_I'm not sure,_ Jill thought. _I just feel like right now… I shouldn't be separated from Joy…_

Sage hummed, before nodding. _...right. She'll stay with you, then. _she thought. _Though, are you going to help us search for Meta, Jill?_

…_yeah, I'm going to help search,_ Jill replied, nodding.

_...alright._ Sage nodded. "...well, shall we begin?" Sage hummed. "Jill and Joy will be accompanying us."

Cowpoke looked down at Mud-Pie. "Hey buddy, you alright if you go back to Smokey and the boys while I help them out?"

"Aw, but Dad, I wanna help you out," whined Mud-Pie.

"It could get risky." Miser noted, folding her arms. "You'd be safe with your dad's friends, Mud-Pie."

"…yeah buddy… I don't want anything bad happenin' to you," Cowpoke said, kneeling down and putting his hands on his son's shoulders. "You know yer mom'd kill me if anything happened to you here…"

Mud-Pie eventually nodded in response to that.

"…I'll join you guys shortly," Cowpoke said, standing back up and walking out the door with Mud-Pie's hand.

"...alright." Proxy hummed, before he looked at the others. "Shall we prepare?"

* * *

><p>Feet pattered through the woods quickly…<p>

…Ivory flinched, looking around.

"...what's wrong?" Mia uttered, looking at Ivory with a raised eyebrow.

"…I thought I heard something…" Ivory spoke.

"…w-w-what did you h-hear?" Stella uttered, just for Ivory to shush her loudly. Mia hummed, as she looked around her; trying to hear whatever Ivory heard.

"…don't you guys hear that?" Ivory spoke, looking at them.

"I heard it," Brute spoke. "…sounds like something running through the woods…"

"…y-you don't th-think it could be that….thing… that he talked about?" Stella uttered. "Th-the one that f-fell from the ARK?"

"...right here and now?" Mia uttered. "...that seems awfully-"

And suddenly, a piercing, high-pitched, panicked shriek rang through the air.

"...okay, I heard _that!_" Mia uttered, before she gave Ivory a nod. "C'mon; let's see what happened!" Quickly, she began running towards where the scream came from.

"B-buh!" Stella stammered when Brute whisked her right up and he and Ivory ran after Mia.

Darting her eyes about, Mia kept running, trying to spot anything unnatural moving about, or at least _someone_ moving about.

After running for a while, suddenly, they halted… just in time to see something darting away from somebody else who was lying on the ground.

"...hey!" Mia called, watching the being run off, when her attention was directed to the one lying on the ground. As it turned out, the one lying on the ground was a certain vulture that Stella would instantly recognize.

"Eep!" Stella yelped and hid behind Brute, while Ivory walked up to her. "What happened?" she asked the vulture.

"...this... thing, just..." the vulture uttered, not moving from where she lied. "...it came outta nowhere, and just grabbed me... and I heard this voice in my head... I freaked, and... _damn_, I thought I was gonna die!"

"…sounds bad," commented Brute.

"Did you see what it looked like?" Ivory asked.

"...it was... long, and... sleek..." the vulture uttered. "...red stripes... and the head... like some mechanical dragon's head..."

"...hm." Mia hummed, folding her arms.

"...Brute, Stella, stay here with her," Ivory said. "Me and Mia will follow where that thing went…" and with that, Ivory ran off. Nodding, Mia ran after Ivory.

* * *

><p>"Mmmh..." Humming, Hex stepped out of the dungeon in her manor, shooting an annoyed look down there. "...why is it taking so long? I'm dying for some action..." Groaning, she began slithering towards her room. "Maybe I just need a nap; by the time I wake, Koopman and the others should have gathered some fresh slaves for me..."<p>

Hex then heard a door open and close.

Instantly, she beamed. "Finally!" she uttered, before she spun around. "I don't care what you got; just toss that slave in my arms! I can't wait much longer!"

Hex got not reply…

"...hello?" Blinking, Hex walked down the halls towards the entrance. "I swear, if you started making out with _my_ slave, I'll take _both_ of you to bed..."

Hex got to the entrance to discover that no one was around…

"...okay?" Hex blinked. "...Koopman? Is that you playing a prank on me?" she called, looking around, "because if it is, you're going to taste the whip!"

Hex spotted someone standing in the dark of another hallway, and she looked familiar to Hex, but the darkness shrouded their face.

"...who's that?" Hex called, as she began approaching this figure. "Show yourself, already; this isn't funny, you know."

The figure stepped out, revealing the female vulture staring blankly at Hex.

Hex blinked, looking at her. "...well?" she uttered. "Where's the slaves?"

The vulture just continued to look at her with a blank look… but suddenly, Hex started getting a headache, just from looking at her.

"Gnh?" Gritting, Hex held her head and closed her eyes. "...the hell are you...?" she uttered.

And now, she started to hear the echo of numerous voices whispering, saying incoherent things.

"...what's going on...?" Hex uttered, as she shot the vulture a glare. "...what are you doing?"

Now the vulture stepped toward her. Hex's eyes widened, as she stepped back from the vulture. "...wh-whatever you're doing, stop it!" she uttered.

The voices increased in volume, and the vulture started to hiss with glowing red eyes…

…suddenly, the vulture jumped on Hex and pinned her down to the ground.

Letting out a startled gasp, Hex looked up at the vulture. "Just what are you doing?" she uttered.

Looking down at the octopus, the vulture started to morph…it lost its feathers in exchange for black skin with red streaks all across it, and the vulture's face became the face of a mechanical dragon, with glowing red eyes shining through down at Hex.

Looking at this, Hex's eyes widened. "...what... _are_ you...?" she uttered in both fear and awe.

The creature raised its hand with only three fingers with claws, and pressed it down on Hex's forehead. Those voices started to increase more, making Hex's headache worse. Hex let out a pained cry, as she shut her eyes. "Stop that! It hurts!" she uttered through clenched teeth. "What do you want with me?"

Though there were no words to express it, Hex started getting strange feelings… she felt like she was being drained of some of her energy, and she felt as if the creature was prying through her being... her mind wasn't safe, or as alone as she would like it to be.

Wincing, Hex just glared at the creature. "...answer me, you freak!" Mustering as much strength in her body as she could, Hex tried coiling the creature's legs, so she could reverse the situation and pin it down, before it did more damage to her. The creature looked back up at her blankly…

…then it started to morph again.

Hex blinked, as she just watched the creature morph; though still making sure that it was pinned under her. That's when it started to take a very familiar shape… it turned orange and it grew tentacles and breasts… and before Hex knew it, it was as if she was staring at her own reflection.

Hex's eyes widened. "...what the fuck...?" she uttered in absolute disbelief.

The octopus underneath her wrapped its own tentacles around her and slammed her right back onto the ground. Hex let out a quick cry, but she was also quick to wrap her tentacles around the octopus as well. "Why, you copycat..." she uttered, glaring at the creature.

The octopus above her leaned down its head and started breathing strangely across Hex's neck.

Hex let out a surprised gasp, as she looked at the octopus. "...hn...?"

The octopus smelled her a little bit…then it licked her neck.

A sudden shiver went through Hex's body. "Ooh..." she uttered.

The octopus, hearing her reaction, now kissed her neck to see what it would do. Again, a shiver went through her body, as Hex became less bewildered, and more aroused. "Ooh... that's..." she uttered, glancing at the octopus from the corner of her eyes. "...do that again..." So the creature did so.

This time, Hex hummed in appreciation. "Mmmh... that's good..." she uttered. "...you should have told me that this was what you wanted... by all means, keep going..." The creature grew even more intrigued why Hex wanted it so. It continued kissing her neck along with stroking her with the newly formed tentacles it gained. Hex shuddered at the feeling of both the kisses and the tentacles stroking her. "Mmmh... yes, that's it..." Hex moaned, closing her eyes as she just took it all in.

The creature found this very curious and strange…

…then it ceased all that it was doing, raising its head toward the doorway. It could sense someone was coming…

Instantly, Hex looked back at it. "Hey, don't stop; it was just starting to get good!" she complained. "...or... do you want to take this somewhere else?"

The creature morphed back into its original form, and it shot away into the dark—right when Hex's front door slammed open.

"What the hell—Hex?" Ivory uttered, seeing Hex on the floor.

"...what's wrong?" Mia called, as she stopped right by Ivory, looking at the octopus.

"...oh, _thanks a lot!_" Hex suddenly yelled, shooting to her feet as she glared at Ivory and Mia. "You scared it off, _just_ when it was getting into it!" Groaning, Hex shot looks all around her. "I need to find it again! I can't let an opportunity like this slip past me!"

"...what are you talking about?" Mia uttered.

"You shut up!" Hex yelled again, shooting them a spiteful glare. "Now unless you want me to take out my frustrations on you, you'd better get out of my sight!"

"…scared what off, Hex?" Ivory asked suspiciously.

"...this morphing creature." Hex murmured. "It did something to me, before it suddenly took my form... and then things were starting to get good, until _you_ came along."

"...gee..." Mia uttered dryly in disgust. "...I'm so sorry." she added sarcastically.

"Just leave!" Hex yelled. "I need to get in touch with Koopman; if I do not get something soon, I'm going to lose my mind!" As she spoke, she glared at the two of them. "And you do _not_ want to be near me when I'm desperate for some action! You got five seconds to scram, or I'll just use you!"

"…what the fuck?" Ivory uttered. "What do you mean morphing creatu-?" A crash through glass above them interrupted her, and she looked up. Ivory's eyes widened as she witnessed a creature soar through the air, and scatter away into the woods.

"...kkh... let's follow it!" Mia uttered, before she rushed after the creature.

"Ah- HEY! I'm not done with it yet!" Hex suddenly called.

"Hex, you're aware that creature fell from the Space Colony ARK, right?" Ivory called, running after Mia.

Hex blinked at hearing that. "...the... ARK?" she uttered; "...ugh, hell with this! I need Koopman to come back with a slave now..." With a groan, Hex sulked off towards her own room.

* * *

><p>The creature kept running through the woods, processing all the information it read from Hex. This woman prowled on others for the sake of her own pleasure, and it didn't matter to her what happened to them…<p>

…it needed to know more…

At that point, the creature noticed a bigger figure standing in a clearing ahead of it. The creature sensed the brainwave patterns coming off of this figure, and it came to a screeching halt with a hiss.

Hearing that hiss, the figure turned around to look at the creature; as it turned out, it was a large pig, Spiel, who the creature had run into. "...hm?" he hummed, looking curiously at the creature.

The creature could sense that this one's thoughts were far different from the other one he encountered, and he tip-toed warily around the Spiel.

Spiel just eyed the creature with a slight hum. "...not from around here, are ya?" he assumed.

The creature just tilted its head at him.

"...you have a name?" Spiel continued to inquire, still looking at the creature. "...can you speak?"

While the creature understood what Spiel was asking, it couldn't reply… except with the same incoherent voices whispering and echoing in the back of Spiel's mind.

Unlike Hex, however, Spiel didn't seem as bothered by it. "...is that you, making noise in my head?" he hummed. "Is that just how ya talk to people?" Then, he chuckled. "It's not really doing much, though; I can't understand it."

The last one screamed about how much pain the mind was caused, but this one… this one was abnormally strong…

…so to investigate further, the creature lurched forward to attack Spiel. However, that would prove to be a bad idea, as its fist just bounced off Spiel's thick hide.

"...oh, did I offend ya?" Spiel chuckled, as he cracked his neck. "...alright; if it's a fight you want..." Chuckling, he motioned for the creature to attack again.

The creature stared at Spiel blankly, wondering what life form he could be exactly. Then it tried to attack Spiel again with a pounce.

However, Spiel just moved to the side to let the creature sail past him. "Come on; throw a punch at me!" he taunted, pointing at his own cheek. "Right here, as hard as you can. Let me see how strong you are..."

Apparently this life form enjoyed taunting his opponents. Perhaps this caused them to grow frustrated and lose focus? The creature shot forward again, intending to aim a punch at the cheek to see what would happen.

This time, Spiel took the punch, causing him to reel back from the impact. "...not bad..." he chuckled, wiping his lips. "...my turn." With a grin, he threw a punch of his own right at the creature.

The creature went flying, with its thoughts racing. This life form was a very powerful one indeed, and when it landed on its feet, it looked back at Spiel.

Spiel grinned, as he cracked his knuckles. "...you're not too shabby." he commented, before he got in a stance. "Now come on; come at me with everything you got! It'll be more fun that way!"

This creature wondered how long this life form could endure in battle, so it engaged in combat, to the life forms wishes. It charged forward with a hiss and tried to throw a barrage of numerous attacks at Spiel. Spiel just proceeded to block a number of the attacks, though some of them got to him. "That's it!" he laughed, as he threw his own sets of punches as well.

The creature grew more and more impressed with his fighting skills… and quickly started to adapt to his level of fighting, growing quicker and stronger. Surprisingly, the stronger punches the creature threw, the stronger Spiel's punches seemed to become; as if he tried just matching his opponent. "Come on; you can do better than this!" Logically, the creature turned up its focus, increasing its strength and agility even more, and even still, Spiel responded in kind by throwing even faster and stronger punches. By this point, he was even laughing loudly.

While Hex had taken pleasure doing obscene things to others, this life form took pleasure in fighting… it was very peculiar to the creature.

Suddenly, Spiel did something different; weaving past the creature's punches, before he grabbed it by the shoulders, and pinned it down against the ground. "...you're pretty good, I gotta say." he said with a wide grin. The creature tried to struggle, but once again, it found that this life form was surprisingly strong.

"...now, let's talk. You know how to do that, don't you?" Spiel hummed, still smirking. "A name, for instance. What do I call you?"

The creature stopped struggling and stared back at Spiel. While he didn't hear any voices, or someone saying anything… a name simply popped up in Spiel's mind.

Spiel blinked. "...Meta...?" he hummed, before he chuckled. "...some name. Why are you called that, I wonder?"

Now Spiel was starting to see some images in his head. There were laboratories, scientists, the sight of the Earth in space, and a very famous man… there were numerous memories of being developed, and the scientists speaking with each other about Meta.

Spiel just blinked at all this. "...you're that old, huh? Who'd have thought..." he mused.

Now Meta started struggling again, wanting to be freed. "...you wanna go free?" Spiel hummed, tilting his head. "...tell me something; why'd you come here, to begin with?" Meta suddenly hissed at Spiel, not giving him any answers. Spiel narrowed his eyes a bit. "Come on; I'm asking you a proper question. The least you could do is answer it without hissing at me."

Meta struggled even more, not telling him.

Spiel scoffed. "...you're a stubborn one, aren't you..." he mused. "...well, unfortunately for you, I can be quite stubborn, too. We'll just have to see who can be the most stubborn, right, Meta?"

Meta managed to pry his hand out, and he shot it toward Spiel's forehead.

That shot Spiel's head backwards, though he didn't let go of Meta's other hand in spite of that. "...I guess that makes me more stubborn!" With a yell, he suddenly slammed his head down on Meta's head. Meta took the blow, and then suddenly, he placed his hand on Spiel's forehead.

Spiel blinked at that. "...what're you..."

Meta clenched down his hand and even if Spiel was strong, he did start to feel like some energy was being drained.

Spiel blinked. "...the hell are you doing, now?" he hummed.

Meta eventually took his hand off of Spiel's forehead then, and somehow was able to morph into a buddle of water, slithering away quickly from Spiel. Spiel blinked, as he looked after the puddle of water. "...you're honestly not gonna answer me?" he hummed, before he scoffed. "...how annoying..." he murmured, before he began following the puddle.

The puddle slithered into the brush…

…and from out of it, Ivory and Mia popped out, halting very suddenly when they saw Spiel. "Wha?"

"Huh?" Quickly skidding to a halt, Spiel looked at the two of them. "...what're you two doing here?"

"Geh!" Quickly, Mia hid behind Ivory. "Don't hurt us!"

"...hey, relax; I don't have a good reason to beat you up this time." Spiel huffed. "Didn't you two see it?"

"…wait…" Ivory looked around quickly. "…you mean, you saw the creature too?"

"...depends." Spiel hummed. "If you're looking for some creature that came from the ARK."

"Yes!" Mia nodded. "...wait... how did you know that?"

"...it showed me." Spiel shrugged, rubbing his head. "...in any case, it turned into a puddle of water, and just flowed past ya."

"…damn…" Ivory folded her arms. "…that thing sure is slippery; no pun intended…"

"...well, you guys have fun looking for that thing." Spiel shrugged, as he began walking off. "Fighting it left me famished; I need something to chow down on..."

Ivory watched Spiel walk away. Then she looked at Mia. "…this is going to be harder than we thought…" Ivory murmured.

"...tell me about it." Mia sighed.

* * *

><p>Nighttime fell over the island, and things started to quiet down a little bit. They had continued looking for Meta… but, there hadn't been any signs of luck whatsoever. Eventually, King and his troupe decided to call it a night for now.<p>

…the only ones that could continue looking throughout the island were Proxy and Omega after all, so they left it up to them. In the morning, if they still didn't find anything, they'd all try again. With them, was Stella. She would never be able to go back to her barracks and try to sleep… she knew that any chance she was alone, that she would be snatched up and Hex would abuse her the same way she's always abused her. She was so afraid of the thought that she just couldn't sleep…

"...you're sure about this?" Proxy hummed, as he looked at her. "Meta could be exceptionally dangerous."

"I'll be alright," Stella reassured. "I can handle it…"

_**"...if you say so."**_ Omega hummed.

Proxy just kept quiet, as he glanced ahead of him.

"…so…you both were created by Dr. Eggman?" Stella asked in amazement.

_**"...yes."**_ Omega nodded.

"...same here," Proxy nodded. "Though, I was just activated a few years ago; ever since the Black Arms Invasion, I've remained inactive."

Stella looked down at the ground. "…but…but you guys were there, back then a long time ago, right?" she asked. "What was that like?"

"...well... Omega would be able to tell you more about that than me." Proxy shrugged.

_**"...it was... something else."**_ Omega commented. _**"After Eggman was finally defeated, things remained peaceful, aside from a few rough cases... it worked out, after all."**_

"…and…when things were still going on?" Stella uttered, looking at them. "I heard you were on adventures with Sonic the Hedgehog himself…"

_**"...briefly."**_ Omega hummed. _**"I first met him during the Metal Overlord Incident, and from there, I mostly stuck with Shadow. When the time came for Shadow to help Sonic out, I would assist him."**_

"…okay," Stella replied, nodding.

"...hrm... I do wonder where Meta's gone to." Proxy thought out loud, rubbing his chin.

Stella looked back at them again. "…how did you guys know Jill?" Proxy and Omega stopped, looking at each other for that.

"...we... met her, a few years back." Proxy hummed. "She was dealing with some enemies of hers, and we decided to help her out. Eventually, we became friends."

_**"That is correct."**_ Omega hummed. _**"Though, ultimately, we had to leave to see to the ARK; meaning that we couldn't stay by her side."**_

Stella blinked. "…what's with Jill anyway? It sounds like she had a really hard time after Joy's father died and whatnot…"

Hearing that, both of them looked at Stella with a surprised look.

"...Brick's... dead?" Proxy uttered.

Stella stopped too, and grew nervous. "…I…I presume so…I mean… I think that's who Joy's father is…right?"

Proxy just looked at her, before he looked away. "...that's... very tragic..." he murmured. "I was up on the ARK, so..." Then, he closed his eyes. "...I didn't know..."

Stella arched her brows a bit worriedly. "…I uh…didn't mean to say something bad…"

"...oh, don't worry." Proxy said. "It's just... Brick was a friend of mine, and I didn't even know that he died... it kind of hit me."

_**"...it is a tragedy." **_Omega hummed. _**"Though, there's no changing what has happened already..."**_

"…right…" Stella muttered, rubbing her arm.

"...hey... don't worry about it." Proxy said, placing a hand on Stella's shoulder. "You don't need to fret."

Stella eventually nodded. "Okay…"

"...now..." Proxy hummed, as he looked ahead of them. "...let's find that experiment..."

"…maybe it's on the mountain?" Stella suggested.

_**"...we could check it out."**_ Omega suggested.

"...it's a long shot... but we should still look everywhere." Proxy nodded. "Would you lead the way, Stella?"

"Yeah," Stella turned and hurried through the woods. "Oh yeah, there's something I should tell you guys. There's a part of the jungle that King forbids anyone to go into…"

Proxy blinked at hearing that. "...why is that?" he inquired.

"…word is, that there's actually a habitat of jungle cat Mobians that live in a part of the jungle," Stella told them. "When King first came here, they were already living here, so they had to make a deal that Safe Haven business would stay away from them in order to set everything up on this island…"

"...ah. I see..." Proxy nodded.

_**"...well, we'll make sure not to enter that part of the forest, then."**_ Omega hummed.

* * *

><p>Letting out a yawn, King entered his own bedroom; he had spent a majority of the day helping out in looking for Meta, and not having found it, he was fairly exhausted. Leaving Sage to reinforce the curfew, he prepared himself for a good night's sleep...<p>

…then there was a knock at his window.

King blinked, as he looked towards the window. "...who's there...?" he hummed, before he walked towards the window.

Just at a glance, King didn't see anything…

"...hm..." Humming, King opened the window, and looked out of it. "...hello?"

Something shot through the window and pounced down on King.

"BUH?" King sputtered, shaking his head. "Hey, what gives?" he managed to say, looking at whoever pounced at him... and his eyes widened.

A female linx was looking down at him with inquiring blue eyes.

"...Tasha?" King uttered, before he broke into a wide grin. "Holy- it's you! It's really you, Tasha!" he said. "H-how have you been? I know it's been a little while since my last letter, but I've been kinda busy... but that doesn't matter; you're here! How have ya been?"

The linx only tilted her head in more wondering at King.

"...Tasha?" King blinked, tilting his head. "Aren't you gonna say anything?"

The linx continued to stare at him, slightly touching King's whiskers.

King blinked a bit at that. "...is something the matter?" he inquired. "You can tell me, you know..."

The linx just kept looking at him blankly, unable to answer him.

King looked back at her. "...why aren't you saying anything, Tasha?" he blinked. "You want me to get you something to write with, or-" Next thing King knew, she leaned forward and stopped him with her lips pressed against his. King's eyes widened a bit, and a bright red flushed across his cheeks.

She stroked a finger across King's furry cheek and whiskers, not pulling away. While still surprised, King slowly moved one of his hands towards her cheek. One of her hands went to his waist and she stroked her finger there. King shivered lightly at her touch, as he moved his other hand to stroke her side.

He didn't seem to get any reaction out of her, but she eventually pulled away to look at King again.

King looked back at her. "...Tasha..." he uttered.

There was silence in the room for a little bit... and then the linx grabbed King's forehead.

King's eyes widened at that. "Tasha?"

King heard incoherent voices echoing through his head, giving him a headache, and the linx he thought he knew started to take a different shape.

King's eyes widened considerably. "...you..."

Meta was the result, sitting there with King pinned while he absorbed his thoughts and energy. King just looked at the creature...

...and then, he snarled. "..._bastard_..." he growled, as electricity began sparking from his cheeks.

Meta, seeing the electricity around King, jumped off of him and crouched readily in the corner of the room, staring at him with glowing red eyes. Slowly rising from the ground, King gave Meta a murderous glare. "..._**WHAT DID YOU DO TO TASHA?**_" he roared, as electricity suddenly burst around him in an aura. With a yell, he rushed right at Meta, and threw a punch at the creature.

Meta ducked like his life depended on it, staring in awe at King… recognizing this kind of energy…

Gritting his teeth, King looked down at Meta. "_**WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?**_" he roared again, before he threw another punch at the creature. The punch was so powerful that Meta was plowed right through King's wall and he made a far landing outside. King wasn't done; however, as he leaped out of the hole he created, following Meta.

Meta stood back up, and quickly started changing into someone…

Landing on the ground, King shot a wild glare right at Meta.

Meta soon took the same shape as King, opening his hands for electricity to spark out of his palms. This seemed very much familiar to Meta…

King, however, didn't seem to take notice of this. "...answer me... what did you do to Tasha?" With another roar, electricity kept crackling around him.

The other tiger glared at him, wondering why he had this familiar abilities…but the only way to answer his question was to send images to King's mind. Tasha was wandering through the jungle by herself, holding a letter in her hands… then Meta came out of nowhere and caught her. After absorbing her essence, Tasha fell unconscious, still holding the letter that may have been for King.

Seeing these images... well, King wasn't exactly pleased. _**"BASTAAAAARD!"**_ he roared, before he suddenly launched himself right at Meta, to punch him.

This time, Meta caught the punch, and since he was the shape of King, he could hold his own.

King saw more images roll by… ones on the Space Colony ARK…

…there were two alien life forms… one was him, Meta… and there was another one. It was sleek and black with orange streaks across it. While Meta was more of a masculine shape, this one was more feminine… and she had a mechanical mask of a dragon, similar to his…

King saw the other alien life form open its palms and electricity crackled around it.

King blinked at seeing this. _...what... electricity...? Just like..._

Meta sensed no answer immediately, and with a growl, he reverted to normal to rush away into the dark of the forest. King quickly shook his head. "...HEY!" he yelled, as he broke into a run. "GET BACK HERE! YOU... GODDAMN... coward..." Suddenly, he collapsed; both having exerted so much energy, being drained _and_ being exhausted from the day had rendered King pretty much worn out. Without much energy left in his body, he just fainted right then and there.

* * *

><p><strong><em>I wonder what that would mean? XD<em>**


	9. Chapter 9

King remained out there, unconscious, all the way to the morning. Cowpoke and his buddies all gathered up so that they could start searching, and when they came across King unconscious on the ground with a big hole out of his living quarters, they were shocked.

"King!" Cowpoke knelt by King and tried shaking him to wake him up.

"...gnh..." King groaned, though he didn't move from where he was lying.

Smokey stomped over, and picked King up into the air. "Let me try," he bellowed quietly, shaking King violently in his grip.

"BLGLFRLGBL-" was basically what King sputtered in response to that.

"...it worked." Merde commented.

Shaking his head, King grabbed Smokey's hand to stop him from shaking him. "Alright; enough, already..." he groaned. "...ugh... last night was rough..."

"King, what happened?" Cowpoke asked, while Smokey put him down.

"...ugh..." King murmured... before his eyes widened. "...of course! That creature, Meta! It came to me last night!" Growling, he clenched his hands. "Oh, I'm gonna crush it for what it did to her..."

"...her?" Rott blinked. "Who are ya talking about?"

King quickly blinked, before he shook his head. "...it doesn't matter. What matters is that right now..." Then, his eyes widened. "...it... can turn into me..."

"…is that so…?" Cowpoke murmured. "…there's been more and more reports of his sighitn'… but he keeps slippin' away…"

"...yeah... pretty weird..." King murmured, rubbing his head. _...that... other creature... what was that?_

"…we'll, we were wonderin' if you were going to start searching today," Cowpoke muttered.

"...yeah, yeah..." King nodded. "...better not waste too much time; I'll call Sage and the others to gather up."

"Right," Cowpoke said, nodding. "We'll go ahead and start lookin'…Proxy, Omega and Stella didn't have any luck last night, so it seems like you were the only one that actually saw 'im."

King nodded. "...right..." he murmured, rubbing his neck.

"...still feel out of it?" Merde assumed.

"Yeah... got pretty drained last night..." King nodded.

"…well, good luck then," Cowpoke said with a nod. "C'mon boys."

All five of them turned away to walk off.

Giving them a slight wave, King began walking off as well. "...alright; time to find Sage and the others..." he murmured, as he rubbed his neck.

* * *

><p>"Man, this sucks," Ed said, moaning. "This stupid creature's running loose, and now everybody has to look for it.<p>

"...tell me about it." Will murmured, as he rubbed his chin. "...can anyone tell me _how_ we got roped into lookin' for it as well?"

"Most everybody did, so quit whining," grunted Seymour.

"I'll whine as much as I want, Seymour." Will grunted.

"...does that mean that we can whine, too, Will?" Marco inquired.

"Hell no." Will scoffed. "That's _my_ privilege."

"_Your_ privilege?" Seymour stopped and glared at Will. "Since when the hell did you think you could do whatever you want? You're not the leader of the group here!"

With a growl, Will suddenly shot Seymour a look, "I think that can be arranged quite easily, if you got the guts." he scoffed.

"Why you-!" Seymour raised his fist.

"I don't think now is a good time to fight…"

Seymour lowered his fist, and turned around. "Great…it's Diablo…"

"...and his little sister." Will huffed, as he shot a glance towards the two of them. "Mind your own beeswax, Diablo."

"...being nasty like always..." Kiri murmured, hiding behind Diablo.

"Listen; we all have to look for this thing, not just you guys," Diablo grumbled. "So keep it civil at least…"

Will let out a quick grunt, as he glanced away.

"...so... you guys have any luck?" Marco inquired, tilting his head.

"…not yet…" Diablo muttered, turning to walk away. "…but if we do, we'll make sure it doesn't get away…c'mon Kiri."

Nodding, Kiri walked after Diablo.

When they were out of earshot, Will shook his head. "...those two just give me the creeps..."

"…I'll say…" Ed sputtered, trembling.

"...let's just keep looking..." Marco murmured.

"...right." Will huffed, before he began walking off.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Diablo and Kiri ended up wandering into the woods. "…I wonder what sort of creature this is, if it can slip past everyone…" Diablo murmured.<p>

"...maybe it just doesn't wanna be around the nasties..." Kiri murmured.

"…what I don't understand is why it doesn't try to swim off of the island," Diablo mused.

"...maybe it can't swim?" Kiri shrugged. "I can't swim, either..."

"…but it sounds pretty dangerous nonetheless," Diablo muttered.

"...I bet you can take it out, if it decides to be nasty." Kiri said, looking up at Diablo. "Because you're strong like that... right, big brother?"

Diablo looked down at Kiri. "…listen Kiri…there are some things I really should tell you-!" Diablo stopped because he heard something, and he stood in front of Kiri protectively.

Kiri blinked, as she looked ahead of her.

That's when they saw Meta slowly step toward them.

"…that looks like the creature everyone was talking about…" Diablo murmured. "…whatever you do, don't move Kiri…"

"...okay..." Kiri nodded, though her eyes widened slightly.

Meta continued to step toward them.

"…what do you want?" Diablo called out at it.

Kiri just kept quiet, though she didn't move, like Diablo told her to.

Meta hissed at Diablo… and then he jumped. Diablo saw that coming and shoved Kiri out of the way so she wouldn't get pounced on like him.

Being pushed to the side, Kiri quickly shot a look at Diablo. "Big brother!" she called out.

"Kiri, go and get help!" Diablo called out, glaring up at a drooling Meta. "I'll hold him off here!"

Kiri gulped, before she nodded. "...o-okay!" she said, before she began running away.

"RAGH!" Diablo was able to push Meta off, and thus, a battle ensued between the two. "I don't care what you do to me, but you leave Kiri out of it, got it?" Diablo yelled at Meta.

In the meantime, Kiri kept running through the woods as fast as her legs could carry her. "...gotta find help... gotta find help..." she uttered to herself, narrowing her eyes a bit.

When Kiri had run pretty far, she spotted a tall figure in the distance, just sitting there by a tree stump.

Seeing this, she breathed. "...hey! I need help!" she called.

Eventually, the tall figure turned to look at her. _**"...who are you?"**_ it spoke in a robotic voice.

"...what's wrong?" At that point, a black hedgehog walked into view, looking at Kiri with a hum.

"…Kiri, is that you?" a bird walked around Omega, seeing Kiri with wide eyes.

"...Stella?" Kiri blinked.

"...what's wrong?" the hedgehog inquired.

"...big brother found the creature! And he's fighting it!" Kiri quickly said.

"What?" Stella's eyes widened even more.

"Come on, you have to hurry!" Kiri called, as she began running off.

"...tsch... let's follow her!" the hedgehog called, as he began running after Kiri. The robot followed after them. Stella hurried ahead of them, catching up with Kiri.

The next thing they knew, they encountered Meta and Diablo in bad shape; Meta knocking Diablo against the tree.

Kiri's eyes widened. "BIG BROTHER!"

The hedgehog hissed. "...Omega, get ready!"

The robot nodded, as he got in a fighting stance.

Diablo weakly looked back up at Meta while he pounced on him again, and slammed his hand right into Diablo's forehead.

"Tsch-" With that, the hedgehog suddenly rushed at Meta, to try and kick it away from Diablo. When the hedgehog went to do that, Meta had already connected himself to Diablo, so kicking him away resorted to forcibly ripping his bond with Diablo.

That caused Diablo more pain than he could ever imagine… and he screamed.

Kiri gasped upon seeing that. "BIG BROTHER!" she cried out.

Shooting a look at Diablo, the hedgehog grit his teeth; "...shit..." Quickly, however, he turned his attention towards Meta, and launched himself at the creature to pin it down.

While Meta was pinned down, Stella went quickly over to Diablo to pin him down as well. "Diablo! It's okay! We got the creature!" she screamed, trying to talk to him. Diablo just kept screaming and trying to wriggle his way away from Stella…

…then he collapsed onto the ground, eyes wide open.

Kiri's eyes widened considerably, as she rushed over to Diablo, quickly shaking him. "Big brother! Big brother! Wake up!"

As the hedgehog and the robot stood over Meta, they looked towards Diablo as well.

It didn't seem like they could wake Diablo up, like he had fallen into a coma with wide open eyes. Meta watched, and the only reason the hedgehog kept him pinned was because he had been weakened from the ripped bond too.

"...Stella, you should take him to the infirmary." the hedgehog said, before he looked at the robot. "Omega, restrain Meta."

_**"Acknowledged, Proxy."**_ Nodding, the robot grabbed the creature, and held it tightly so it couldn't escape.

Stella managed to pick Diablo up without too much trouble. "C'mon Kiri," she said. "We'll make sure Diablo's okay…"

Kiri didn't say anything, though she stood by Stella with a nod.

"We'll see you guys later…" Stella said to Proxy and Omega, ready to walk away.

"...later." Proxy said with a nod to Stella.

With that, Stella trudged away with a motionless Diablo. Kiri trotted after her, though as she left, she shot Meta a spiteful look.

Meta made no other response to that, and he just looked back at Proxy and Omega.

"...alright; I hate to do this, but we need to get you back to the ARK, Meta." Proxy sighed, as he looked at the experiment. "You've caused a great deal of distress around the island; you do realize that, right?"

Meta turned away from Proxy, growling.

"...come along." With a hum, Proxy began walking off, with Omega following him.

* * *

><p>Meta's capture was announced, and everyone grew relieved, going back to their own business shortly afterwards. Meta was taken to their capsule to be locked up, and Proxy and Omega would leave him there for the night, so they could spend one more day here on the island and take off for the ARK tomorrow.<p>

Meta was sitting in a closed space within the capsule while the evening started to come closer, and it sat there; absorbed within its own thoughts about all the information about everyone that it collected. This was a warrior nation, created by a group of warriors that endured a hardship that they couldn't control. Here, warriors could fight however they wanted, and be as free as they could be.

But it seemed like most warriors here took advantage of the fact that there were less dire consequences here than there were in the outside world for whatever actions they took. One had slaves, another plotted mutiny, and the rest had no idea of the others intentions.

Here, utter chaos could manifest at any time… any moment…

…it was all the same to Meta.

At that point, something knocked on the door.

Meta could only look up at the door… after all, it was locked so that he couldn't get out.

But then, to his surprise... the door slowly opened.

Meta stood up from where he sat, watching the door warily. The thoughts he detected from the one opening it were very hostile…

When the door opened fully, he'd see Kiri standing there; glaring at him as she held a knife in her hand. "...you hurt my big brother... you're the nastiest of nasties..." she uttered, clenching the knife considerably, "...I'll never forgive you..." Meta crouched readily, when Kiri would try to strike him.

Letting out a cry, Kiri ran towards Meta, intending to stab it with the knife. Meta jumped away and slammed Kiri to the ground, pressing his hand to her forehead like what he's done to the others. Crying out, Kiri flailed her arms about wildly, trying desperately to lodge the knife somewhere into Meta. Meta pressed his hand hard down on Kiri, and started to absorb her energy…

…then a foot came flying his direction, and knocked him against the wall of the capsule.

Instantly, Kiri's eyes widened; she had been disconnected from Meta like Diablo before her, so it didn't take long for her to start screaming from the top of her lungs, writhing on the floor in agony. Meta looked at Kiri, and then he saw a tall figure stand over her, looking down at her with piercing, glowing red eyes. This woman, this ewe, only looked at the screaming child in indifference, and eventually smirked up at Meta.

Meta started to grow very bewildered, the more he tried to read this woman… he saw two different thought patterns, one currently shut off at the moment while the other was very much active. For the first time on this island, he encountered a mentally complicated being… and she still continued to smirk at Meta, as if this woman was merely amused at the sight of this creature.

So instead of trying to explore the being further on, Meta took the opportunity of escape, running swiftly past the woman and into the dark of the woods.

The woman saw him run off, still smirking. Eventually, she looked back down at Kiri, and the eyes flashed from red to green.

* * *

><p>Jill brought in a hysterical Kiri into the infirmary, frightened most of all for why she was in there in the capsule. She had no idea there was another child here on the island other than Mud-Pie and Joy, and to see the child acting so neurotic was… traumatizing for her.<p>

"H-hurts!" Kiri cried, losing just about all control over her breathing. "Make it stop! It hurts!"

Jill wanted to reassure her, but there was nothing she could say or do. The only thing she could do is get help for her.

Luckily, Miser and Ripper were still in there when Jill came barging in with Kiri. Looking at this, both of them were quite startled. "Another one?" Miser uttered, as she rushed over to Jill, looking at Kiri, who was still sobbing uncontrollably. "...what happened, Jill?" she said, as she hurriedly took Kiri.

Jill whipped out the notepad and managed to write shakily while they got Kiri to a bed; _I blacked out, and when I came too, I was standing in the capsule with her screaming on the floor._

"..kekeke; that's not good..." Ripper uttered.

"...wait... the capsule?" Instantly, Miser looked at Jill again. "That's where they stored Meta! Did... did he escape again?"

Jill's eyes widened. _I think he did! I never saw him in there!_ She wrote.

"...oh, of all the..." Miser uttered, before she looked at Ripper. "You and Jill have to let the others know! I'll keep an eye on Kiri!"

"Right!" Ripper nodded, before he looked at Jill. "Let's go, keke!"

Jill nodded and the two of them hurried off quickly; Jill especially, because she wasn't sure how much of the child screaming she could bear.

* * *

><p>Jill and Ripper luckily, ran into Proxy and Omega just chatting with Ani while she was sweeping up the pub.<p>

Both of them looked at the two in surprise when they burst into the pub. "...what's wrong?" Proxy hummed.

"...the experiment..." Ripper began. "...kekeke... it broke free...!"

Instantly, Proxy's eyes widened upon hearing that. "...what?"

_**"It broke free?"**_ Omega sputtered as well.

Jill nodded.

"W-we gotta warn everybody then!" Ani uttered.

"Right." Proxy said, quickly calming down. "Let's move out; both to warn the others, and to bring Meta in again."

Jill nodded, and she was the first one to run out. Instead of going to warn the others like everybody else, she was going to seek out Meta herself…

While the others started warning everyone, Jill wandered deep into the forest, and she came across the old ruins of the GUN base. She knew that a lot of people had already searched around the forest, but she presumed that Meta would find a small crawlspace in the ruins to hide in away from everyone else…

Plus, she really hadn't been able to explore these old ruins before until now…

So she found a way in and kept running through hallways, and corridors, and chambers, and offices…

…then she started getting into the darker parts of the base. Jill at first started growing frustrated because she couldn't see… and then she found herself in a large pitch black room, feeling around for a light switch or something.

She felt some kind of lever and pulled it up, to discover a large generator room that flashed into the light before her; the generators having been turned on thanks to her. With the issue of light settled, Jill left the room and continued down the hallway to see what else she would find.

Then she headed toward a pair of gigantic double doors. On the door, it had large letters.

"**AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY**," in big, red, faded letters.

…_I wonder what this place is, _Jill thought curiously. When she stepped toward the doors, somehow, they opened up to her, and she walked inside.

Jill looked all around this place. Things flashed before her eyes from a time long ago when this place was newer and operating. Robots were chasing after a certain white bat, who expertly picked them apart and destroyed them while flying through the air. The white bat even flashed Jill a smirk as she flew over her.

Then Jill took another look, and everything was as it was when she first walked in. Rust in many places, and even some weeds and vines growing through the walls. Everything looked so aged…

This place, was where Rouge the Bat infiltrated to get the Chaos Emeralds for Eggman, during the time of the ARK's reawakening. She could remember most of the details that Shadow the Hedgehog described for her when he told that story to her and the boys long ago.

He called it Security Hall.

To think a place of that historic value still existed here…and it didn't look as damaged as most of the other buildings. Some of the stationary GUN units even still looked operational.

Now there was food for thought… a place of nostalgia where Jill could train alone in peace and quiet.

Heck, there were plenty of places of nostalgia; the harbor where the ferry docks isn't too far from the part of the harbor where Sonic the Hedgehog himself once ran through, Metal Harbor, and the part of the forest that Sonic ran through too, Green Forest.

Remembering the stories that the Professor told her, Jill felt sad, but… somewhat comfortable at the same time. She was somewhere that she was familiar with… and believe it or not, stories about Sonic the Hedgehog is what helped her emotionally heal when the Professor and Brick first found her…

_She remembered the first morning she discovered she was lying in a bed, when she remembered moments before collapsing in the middle of a jungle weakly. She wasn't sure what would come of her when she lied there in that cold jungle during the day. _

_Now, she was apprehensive of where she was, and she jumped out of bed… only to fall right back down on the ground weakly, realizing that she had no strength, whatsoever. She knocked over a standing tray in the process, causing a loud crash to the floor. Jill felt so hot, she was burning up on her forehead when she touched it. She felt so ill…_

"…_Hey!" A figure ran into the room, and helped her up. "What do you think you're doing stupid? You're sick!"_

"…_stupid…?" Jill felt hurt and offended by that, but when she looked up at who it was that was trying to help her up, they both stopped. She stared at those strong-willed brown eyes with wonder and slight anxiety._

"…_uh…uh, I um…" That bull with the nose-ring was blank in the head and slightly red in the face. "…you're… you're not stupid… that's just a habit I have…" Eventually, the bull picked her up off the ground without a problem and put her back to bed. "Listen though… you're not feeling well at all. You shouldn't try to do anything at the moment…"_

"…_but…but I can't…I don't…" Jill was trying to find the words to say but the delirium of her fever was causing her to lose her train of thought._

"…_hey, calm down…" hushed the bull, putting the covers over her again. "…My name's Brick Cainfield… I found you in the jungle and I brought you to the Professor's workshop in the Mystic Ruins. You know, Professor Miles "Tails" Prower?"_

_Jill looked at this bull inquiringly. "…who's… that?"_

_Brick Cainfield only looked at her, dumbfounded. "…you…never heard of the Professor? But everyone's heard of him! How can you not hear about Professor Miles "Tails" Prower?" He was just so baffled by the fact that this girl didn't know him. Jill grew more hurt, like maybe she should've known who he was when traveling the world, if he was so famous. She turned away. _

_Brick saw that and felt guilty, "Aw, don't go looking all pouty and stuff. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…" but he still wondered why she never heard of him. "…you're… not from around here, are you?"_

_Jill shook her head. "…no…I'm not…" and she looked away sadly._

"… _you alright?" Brick asked worriedly._

"…_not really…"_

"…_you wanna talk about it…?"_

"…_I wouldn't be comfortable talking about it…"_

_Brick blinked. "…well…" and he scratched his head. "…can…I at least know your name?" _

_Jill remained silent. For so long, she's never had to give her name to a stranger, and for some reason… she couldn't pull herself to do it. Maybe because she was afraid of letting someone get close to her. They could get hurt… anyone that helped her could get involved with what trouble she was in…_

"…_if I don't know you're name, I might have to end up coming up with a nickname for you," Brick remarked. "Not sure if you'll like a nickname that Brick Cainfield will pick for you…"_

_Jill once again didn't answer._

"…_well…I'll let the Professor know that you're awake," Brick said, turning to leave the room._

"…_wait."_

_Brick stopped for a minute and looked back at Jill. She turned and looked back at him with sincere eyes. "…thank you…" she uttered._

…_Brick…_ Jill grew sad just thinking about it…

"...there you are, Jill."

Jill blinked and turned around, realizing she wasn't alone.

Approaching her was a familiar raven, who stopped in front of her. "...planning on taking on Meta on your own, huh?" she hummed.

Jill nodded, figuring there was no way she could really lie to Sage anyway.

Sage let out a brief sigh. "...may I ask why you decided upon that idea?"

…_part of me feels like Meta may have escaped because of me, _Jill thought, looking away from Sage. _…and that child…she…_

"...hrm..." Sage hummed, folding her arms. "...still... it's a dangerous creature, Jill. What if it managed to drain you as well, with none of us knowing that you had gone here on your own?"

Jill just kept looking away from Sage when she said that.

"...look, I get that you felt like it was your responsibility." Sage said, placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "...but the next time you feel that way... at least ask for a little backup, hm?"

Jill finally looked back at Sage and nodded again.

…then she caught something out of the corner of her eyes, and she flinched, looking over there. She caught a glimpse of something moving across one of the floors and then it disappeared.

Looking there as well, Sage hummed. "...guess we found it." she mused. Jill's eyes widened, and then she quickly took off after where she saw that figure disappear. Letting out a brief sigh, Sage flew after Jill.

Jill grabbed a pulley to yank herself up to another floor, and right when she landed there, the thing she saw screeched to a halt. She looked upon the sight of a baffled Meta, who could sense that the other mind was in control now…and this mind was much different than that other one.

Jill ran forward with a kick, and Meta jumped over it. Then Jill started throwing punches, and Meta blocked them off.

Flying over the two of them, Sage just looked down at the battle, ready to intervene if things would go sour for Jill.

Things turned around and Meta was on the offensive, throwing some hits toward Jill that she blocked. When she threw another kick, Meta jumped back, and he started to morph…

…turning into Hex.

Jill's eyes widened, and when Meta threw tentacles at her, she jumped away.

Sage blinked. "...he got to her, too?"

Meta kept throwing tentacles… until suddenly, he saw Jill grab one of them to stop him. He looked at her, and he suddenly sensed a lot of hate coming off of Jill, while she yanked him up and threw him down onto the ground on the other side.

Sage stopped in the air when she saw this, looking at Jill with a surprised look.

Meta morphed back to normal, prying free from Jill's grip, and then he morphed into someone else; King. Electricity crackled in his palms, and he shot the bolts at Jill who jumped away from them.

"King, too..." Sage uttered, as she looked at Meta as well.

Jill tried running back toward Meta while he shot lightning bolts, and she actually managed to get past most of them. Meta was able to get one hit on her, but that was right when Jill was able to kick Meta in the face and knock him backwards a bit.

Meta changed from King to another figure… Spiel.

Jill was shocked to see that. Even Sage gaped. "He got to Spiel?" she sputtered.

Jill wasn't going to let that stop her though, and she aimed a punch for Meta's stomach.

That was a mistake, because Meta was able to withstand that punch, and even bounce Jill backward. Sage grit her teeth, as she looked at Meta. _...if it's copied Spiel's strength as well... Jill's going to be in trouble._

Meta stomped toward Jill, and she tried another punch, but that was easily bounced back off his large stomach. _Oh no… how am I going to fight him?_ Jill thought worriedly.

Then Meta punched her, and Jill went flying in the air off of the second floor.

"JILL!" Quickly, Sage flew right after Jill, a distressed look on her. _Okay, this isn't good at all!_

Meta watched Jill hit the titanic ground harshly, and for a moment, Jill couldn't even move.

Quickly, Sage landed by Jill, checking on her. "Jill... come on, get up...!"

Jill tried, but she just fell back down. _You're going to have to try and get him, _Jill thought, seeing Meta morph back to normal and scamper away.

Hissing a bit, Sage looked at Meta. "...very well..." With that, she flew right at Meta, directing her powers at the creature like a battering ram to send him crashing into a wall.

Meta hit the wall, creating a dent, and it looked in shock at Sage.

…that power…

Looking directly at Meta, Sage hissed. "...don't expect any mercy from me. Got that?" she uttered.

Meta fell to the ground, and then it looked back up at Sage blankly.

Still looking at the creature, Sage frowned. "...got nothing to say, hm?"

Meta stared at Sage even longer. Her mental prowess was magnificent…it was the best mentality he's ever seen out of any of the warriors here on the island… and while King seemed so familiar to something else he knew, this raven compared to him in the same…

"...what's that look for?" Sage inquired, narrowing her eyes. "Speak up."

Meta stood up and kept staring at Sage.

_You…your mental strength is phenomenal…_

Sage blinked, before she narrowed her eyes. _...compliments aren't gonna help you, you know._

_But you have abilities like mine…and your friend, the tiger; he had abilities like…_her.

Sage blinked. _...her?_

Meta sent rapid images into Sage's head; the same images that he once showed King. They were in the laboratory, and there were scientists… most of all, there was that other alien that looked like him too, but with the orange streaks and feminine figure.

_She was not given any particular name, like I was… but she possessed the same abilities as your friend did…_

More images flashed where that alien threw her hands at conduits and monitors and they all either short-circuited or turned on. She grew violent and scientists had to restrain her heavily.

Sage could do nothing but blink at everything that was being shown in her mind.

…_you've read the file… so you know what we are…_

What went through Sage's head next were incubation pods in the dark of a cave, covered with dark purple mist and black and red muscles on the walls. Certain aliens pulled the incubation pods out and were seen transporting them to the scientists that would put them aboard the ARK.

…_we were failed experiments of the Black Arms sent to Gerald to be disposed of… forced to watch as they dissected our brothers and sisters… they would have dissected us too if they had not witnessed our abilities…_

Meta and that other alien tried to escape through the halls, but somehow managed to be captured again.

_They kept us alive to observe us instead…. Once again, treating us like the experiments we were…_

Sage just blinked at all of this, unable to make a response to it.

…_you know how it feels to be treated as such… that's how that man treated all of you and your friends…_

Sage grit her teeth a little upon being reminded of that.

…_Three generations of children, bred and genetically enhanced to create unstoppable soldiers… it must have been hard. _

Sage narrowed her eyes, still just glaring at Meta.

_...what I would like to know, is why you possess my abilities… and why your tiger friend has my sister's powers…_

Sage remained silent.

"...does it look like I know that?" she eventually replied. "We were unconscious while our powers were given to us, so no one actually remembers how it happened; it just did."

…_what a shame then…?_

Suddenly, Meta was tackled, and having been distracted with Sage, he didn't notice that Jill had gotten up there to grab Meta and push themselves over the edge to land on the first floor; Meta pinned underneath Jill.

"Uh- JILL?" Quickly, Sage stormed to the edge so she could see what was going on.

Jill glared down at Meta, while it just looked back up at her.

…_this woman…she's been through much hardship…_

Quickly, Sage began flying down to the first floor as well; ready to help Jill if the need arose.

Jill tried to punch Meta, but he just grabbed the punch.

…_she is bold…and naïve…_

Meta threw Jill back down on the ground, and Jill looked at Meta with wide eyes.

_...get the hell away from her!_ Sage suddenly screamed in Meta's head, as she stopped right above them, her eyes sparking with psychic energy.

Jill stared in shock while Meta just looked up at Sage.

_I'm not giving you any more warnings!_ Sage called again, as energy just brimmed from her. _If you don't get off her this instant, I will deliver a world of pain onto you!_

Meta continued to look at her… but eventually, he raised his hand toward Jill's forehead, making her quiver a bit in panic.

Instantly, Sage's eyes widened. _I WARNED YOU!_

Before Meta could grab Jill's forehead, he was suddenly whisked up into the air by Sage; suspended in the air over the ewe.

Jill looked up in awe while Meta just continued to look at Sage.

_I could tear you up into shreds if I so desired!_ Sage hissed in Meta's head, as she kept glaring at him. _And I don't care how important it is that you return to the ARK; I may very well do it if you suck anything out of my friends again! Do you understand?_

…_I would rather die than go back to the Ark…_

Hearing that actually subsided Sage's rage, though she still kept Meta suspended in the air. _...pardon?_

_I was trapped there for many years… and being there only reminds me of the past that I wish to escape from._

Sage just looked at Meta with a tilted head; she hadn't expected to hear this.

…_I had to watch my brothers and sisters go through hard times… but her… I had to watch her die on her overdose of power…_

Sage saw a scene where that creature was raging about, shooting electricity and throwing a hysterical fit. Sage blinked again; just watching these images in her head. She saw Meta run at her and pin her down, trying to calm her…

…but she threw him off, and then jammed her hand into a very large computer.

_She attempted to destroy the life support of the ARK so that everyone would die and we could finally escape… unfortunately, all the energy stored up in the ARK was too much for her, and it backfired on her._

The alien howled in absolute pain while it shook in a seizure of massive energy that shot her off. When she was on the ground, Meta tried to touch her, but lightning shot everywhere out of her and she continued to howl.

"...that's..." Sage uttered, as she couldn't stop looking at these images in her head.

Finally, the lightning stopped and the creature collapsed. Meta stepped toward the other alien and touched her. She didn't move.

…_and while I was sealed away for years… this all feels like it happened merely days ago… I grew so unstable that they would have to dispose of me, but I presume that they never got the chance to do such a thing when GUN invaded the ARK to repossess it and rid all of the evidence of everything that took place there._

Still, Sage was quiet, as she just looked at Meta.

…_I know nothing but how to fight… so the only use is to kill me right now._

Sage remained silent, as she slowly floated towards Meta. Jill looked in wonder at what would happen.

Eventually, Sage stopped in front of Meta, looking at him.

"...idiot."

With that one word, she suddenly slapped Meta right across his face.

Jill became shocked, and Meta looked back at Sage in the same reaction.

"...don't be so quick to want to throw your life away." Sage uttered in an absolutely chilling tone, as she just glared at Meta. "To want that is to just throw in the towel and give up... you think dying will make everything better? That everything in the past would just be abolished if you perished?"

_It is not in the perspective that I want to give up… it is only that I see nowhere else I could fit in this world… I fulfill no worthwhile purpose._

Sage's eyes narrowed again, as she slapped Meta again. "You think we didn't feel the same way back then?" she yelled. "We always felt that aside from our line of work, there was nothing else left in life for any of us... and what happened after that? King founded Safe Haven!" Then, she aimed a piercing glare directly at Meta. "...if you think that you don't have a purpose in the world, then maybe you should actually _search_ for a purpose. It'd be better than tossing your life aside because you just _thought_ that there wasn't anything in the world for you."

Jill's eyes widened, hearing her say that.

…_that sounds like…_

She remembered Metal back then, and she looked up at Meta. _…does he really feel that way…?_

Still, Sage just glared at Meta.

…_well then, what do you propose I do? How exactly should I look for my own purpose?_

"...first off, you should stop thinking that it'd be best for you to simply die." Sage uttered. "From there, you should find something that you like doing; Keyword being _you_, not _anyone else_."

_But how would you explain this to that android and that robot?_

"...I'd talk to them about it, and I'd let you chip in with your own thoughts." Sage retorted. "You think just because they came to get you back, they wouldn't listen to what you had to say for yourself? I know that they're better than that."

Meta remained silent after that.

Jill managed to stand back up on her feet.

"...well?" Sage uttered, narrowing her eyes.

…_very well…_

Sage nodded. "Alright. Now are you going to come along quietly?"

Meta nodded, and Jill became surprised.

Sage nodded again. "Alright; let's find Proxy and Omega, and let them know about this." With that, she turned to look at Jill. "...shall we?"

Slowly, Jill nodded.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the infirmary, all things were quiet. Miser and Ripper weren't there, and right now, most of the patients were resting…<p>

…then…there was a chuckle. Soon, it erupted to insane laughter.

One of the patients was wriggling in their bed, until they eventually fell to the floor, and the laughter paused for a moment while they got back up. Then they chuckled again while they trudged through the room.

"Kiri…" he chuckled malevolently. "…Oh Kiri…where are you? Heheheh…"

"...Big... Brother...?" a small voice uttered, as Kiri slowly sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"That's right Kiri…it's your Big Brother…" the voice chuckled. "…it's time to get up…"

"...is it really...?" Kiri hummed...

...before she giggled a bit.

"…yes," The voice said in a smug tone. Then he raised his hand out to Kiri. "Let's go, shall we?"

"...yes." Nodding, Kiri took his hand, and hopped out of bed with another giggle. "...can we take one of them with us? I want to play..."

"Sure we can," the one holding Kiri's hand chuckled. They walked through the room and he went by one of the beds, snatching away one of the patients.

"Wha?" they woke up and looked up in fear. "D-D-Diablo?"

"I hope you don't mind… but little Kiri here wants to play," Diablo stared the patient down with faded, lifeless crimson eyes and he wore a maniacal looking grin.

Giggling, Kiri looked up at the patient. "...I hope we can become really good friends..." she said, as her eyes took on a similar lifeless look, grinning just like Diablo.

"….w-w-what do you th-think you're d-d-doing?" The patient uttered, getting shoved out of the room by Diablo.

"We're going to play…" Diablo chuckled.

"No!" The patient tried to squirm free. "No! I-I don't believe y-you!"

"Oh why would we lie?" Diablo cackled even more.

"...we're just going to play." Kiri giggled. "Just some fun between friends... there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"No!" The patient grew more frightened.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p>"...hmmm?" Humming, Hex glanced around her, thinking she heard a scream of sorts. "...hrm... must've been my imagination..." Shrugging, she kept walking through the forest. "...now... where is Raider right now...?"<p>

She eventually stumbled upon Raider standing there in the opening, talking to Spiel. "…so I missed it, huh?" Raider muttered.

"Seems like it." Spiel shrugged, chewing on a leg of ham. "Show's all over, from what I've gathered."

"…damn…" Raider grew irritated. "You're a lucky bastard, you know that?"

"Maybe I was born under a lucky star?" Spiel quipped; grinning as he took another bite out of his meal. "In any case, if you wanted to see the creature, no dice; it's being kept in high-security custody."

"…well…thanks for the info," Raider murmured.

"Don't mention it." Spiel shrugged, before he began walking off. "Just make sure not to get in over your head; it could turn out poorly for ya." With that, he was gone.

At this point, Hex came out from where she had been standing. "...what was that all about?" she hummed.

"That creature's been captured again, after it escaped," Raider murmured. "I wanted to know where it might be so I could get a look at it…"

"...and there's no way of you getting to it, hm?" Hex hummed, before she folded her arms. "Guess things just aren't going any of our ways, lately..."

"…hm…" Raider just grunted, and folded his arms.

Then, Hex just groaned. "And still, my cells are completely empty... I got nothing to kill time with at the moment. It's really frustrating, at this point..."

"Oh boo hoo, you and your sick desires," Raider groaned. "I don't get to find out why that creature's here… all that Spiel told me was that it was from the ARK and it was another experiment that they worked on besides Shadow the Hedgehog…"

"...hmph; wouldn't surprise me, given what it was capable of..." Hex mused, before she shot Raider a look. "...besides, you still get to fill out what you can find out about everyone else in your notes. I have people who keep me up-to-date about others, so what do you expect me to do?" she huffed.

Raider shrugged. "Play solitaire? Hell if I know what you should do with yourself, Hex…"

"...you're not helping." Hex huffed, before she folded her arms. "...speaking of helping, you haven't forgotten about our deal, have you?"

"…hm?" Raider now looked questionably at Hex.

"You know, that whole "you taking revenge against Jill and Cowpoke in my stead" thing? Surely you remember that." Hex hummed, tapping her arm as she looked incredulously at Raider.

"…right…guess when that creature came crashing down, I almost forgot about that," Raider said.

"Good thing I reminded you of it, then." Hex huffed, before she approached Raider. "Even with that creature stirring up the place, there's only a few months left before the recruits decide whether or not they'll leave the island. If Cowpoke and his son are among those who leave, and you still haven't done anything that could qualify as revenge..." Then, she scoffed. "...I might just have to take my frustrations out on someone."

Raider shoved Hex away. "I get the idea…I'll get to work on that 'revenge' for you as soon as possible…" he growled.

"Good." Hex huffed. "Just remember... I'm not one to leave unsatisfied. It makes me... _bitter._"

"Yeah, yeah…" Raider grumbled, walking away from her.

Folding her arms, Hex hummed. _...maybe... if no one's by the infirmary, I could send Koopman to..._ Whistling, she began slithering off.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, everybody else gathered at the pub again. King and his group, along with Proxy and Omega were consulting on the matter of Meta's fate, and what things Sage had learned while speaking with him through telepathy. Since the pub was closed to the outside public, Jill and Joy sat outside with Sonia, Cowpoke and his group, Ivory, Mia, Brute, and Stella. They all didn't say anything to each other for awhile… they just waited silently for their meeting to go on.<p>

"…Cowpoke…" Cowpoke looked up at Stella, who shuffled her feet nervously. "…you're…not still mad at me…are you…?"

Cowpoke was silent, and a somber look crossed his face while he looked back down onto the ground. "…don't ask me that right now…" he grumbled.

"…okay…" Stella looked away in guilt.

"…you seem to be the one to hold stubborn grudges, eh?" Ivory guessed.

"…s'pose…" Cowpoke murmured.

"…that's Cowpoke for you…" commented Smokey.

Jill looked over at Cowpoke thoughtfully. Of course he would still be mad at Stella for what happened not too long ago… after all, Cowpoke had been trapped in a corner, forced to choose harsh decisions… and after being told how he felt for her, it still made Jill worry. While Cowpoke was getting over what happened with Hex… she wasn't sure if he was getting over the fact that he felt like they couldn't work, despite how he felt for her.

"...they sure are taking a long while in there." Mia commented.

"Well, it's some heavy-duty stuff they're talking about." Sonia mused. "Not much else we can do but wait."

"...I guess..." Rott sighed.

"...hm." Merde hummed.

Joy toddled back and forth between everyone, sucking and nibbling on her fingers. Eventually, she toddled over to Jill. "Mama, Mama…" Jill looked at her, and Joy opened her arms and jumped. "Uppy! Uppy!" Jill picked her up and held her, and Joy hugged her while resting her head on her shoulder.

"…I still don't know why you came to a warrior nation with a child, Condit," Ivory mumbled, getting an inquiring look from Jill.

"Yeah; it seems kinda... risky; especially with some of the hoodlums around here." Mia hummed.

"…she wanted to get strong again so she could protect Joy…"

Jill's eyes widened and looked to Cowpoke.

"…and you know this…how?" Ivory asked.

"…because I do," Cowpoke said, closing his eyes.

"...alright...?" Mia blinked.

Jill's brows arched, and Cowpoke stood up. "…I…need to be alone for a bit," he spoke. "…would you guys mind watchin' my boy?"

"But Dad, where are you going?" Mud-Pie asked.

"…just somewhere where I can think," Cowpoke murmured, walking away.

Watching him leave, Sonia hummed. "...got a lot on his mind, huh..." she mused.

"…he's been like that a lot," Mud-Pie said. "…I don't know why…but I kinda wish I could help my dad if there was anything wrong…"

…_guess he doesn't know what happened with Hex… _Ivory supposed in thought.

"...he hasn't let us talk to him about it, either..." Merde hummed, folding his arms.

"...not a word, huh?" Sonia blinked, looking at Merde, Rott and Smokey.

Jill looked at all of them, and she set down Joy to walk after Cowpoke. "Mama?" Joy called out in questioning, but Jill just kept walking on after Cowpoke.

Stella watched that, and looked down at the ground, feeling even guiltier than ever.

"...should we follow them?" Rott hummed.

"...let's leave them alone for a bit." Sonia mused.

Stella looked at the pub, wondering just how long they were going to take…

"What?" Inside, Hunter was baffled. "You mean to say that Meta…?"

"Yep; he wants to find a purpose in life." Sage nodded.

"...well... this is certainly a surprising development." Proxy hummed, rubbing his chin.

Meta only stood there, looking at all of them…

"…well, uh…" Ani wasn't sure what to say; she just scratched her head.

"...that's... um..." King hummed, rubbing his neck.

_**"...curious."**_ Omega eventually hummed. _**"Yet... familiar."**_

"...really, now?" Queen hummed, rubbing her chin in thought.

"...alright..." Proxy hummed, pressing his hands together. "...this is an unexpected turn, but... what would Meta have in mind?"

Sage glanced at Meta; motioning for it to answer Proxy's inquiry.

…_I would have not a clue where to start…other then perhaps… _Meta looked at King. _…finding out why he has the same powers as her._

"...her?" Proxy hummed, pressing his hands together. "...who are you talking about? There might be some records of the one you speak in ARK's databanks."

…_perhaps…_ Meta thought. _…but I want to know more about you all…_

"...about all of us?" Humming, Proxy looked at everyone gathered. "...well..."

"...well... what about us would you like to know about?" Sage inquired.

…_the woman with the two minds, _Proxy began. _I've only glimpsed into her mind… and it shows me so much at just one glance… and all of your minds seem to show the same things… but it takes longer for you to get to where she was…_

"...you... want to know about Jill...?" Proxy hummed, folding his arms. "...well... where do we begin, there...?"

"…maybe Sage can show you?" Hunter suggested.

"...yeah; I'll do that." Sage hummed, placing a hand on Meta's head. "Some of this is very delicate information; I'd advise you not to throw it around recklessly. Understood?"

Meta nodded.

"...alright; here goes..." Sage hummed, closing her eyes as she began showing Meta what he wanted to see.

* * *

><p>Cowpoke was too lost in thought to notice someone was following him in the distance. It wasn't until he actually heard footsteps that he stopped and turned. "Oh…" Jill walked up to it, halting in front of him. "…you didn't hafta follow me…" Cowpoke muttered, kicking a pebble on the ground aside.<p>

Jill tilted her head, and stepped closer to Cowpoke, pulling out her notepad.

_I'm worried about you… _she wrote.

"…that's nice o' you…but…you didn't hafta worry," Cowpoke said, turning away from her.

Jill set a hand on Cowpoke's shoulder, but that didn't seem to get much a response.

"…I'm just thinkin' 'bout…you know…what I'm gonna do when I get back," Cowpoke muttered. "…back to the outside world…"

Jill's eyebrows arched some more, and she pulled her hand away from Cowpoke's shoulder. Cowpoke eventually sighed, and the air grew tense.

…_what's wrong?_ Jill wrote, walking around to show it to Cowpoke.

"…I only have a few months here left… and that's the last I'm gonna ever see you and Joy," Cowpoke looked up at Jill with sad eyes. "…after what happened… I dun't think I could bring myself to do anything but just push through the training until then…" Then he looked away. "…even with how I feel…I know that things can't work between us…I can only assume that you ain't ready to get back into a relationship… and I'm right, ain't I?"

Jill looked away uncomfortably.

"…I thought so…" Cowpoke closed his eyes and pulled his hat down over his face. "…so…it's only best that nothin' else happens to make things more complicated…"

Jill looked back at Cowpoke, and she started to write something. Then she tore out the page and handed it to Cowpoke. He looked at it questionably, and then took it to read it.

_Even then… what if we made the most of it?_

"…hm…?" Cowpoke looked up at Jill in wondering, and before he knew it, Jill came forward and hugged him. Cowpoke froze after that, not sure at all what to do; he even dropped the note to the ground when she hugged him. He stared at her in shock… "…you…"

Jill looked at him face-to-face, trying to smile a bit.

"…but…why?" Cowpoke asked.

Jill let go of Cowpoke to write.

…_even if we can't work out in a committed relationship, what's to say that we can't explore the option of dating, just for a little while? _

Cowpoke was amazed, looking back up at Jill in question.

So Jill kept writing. _...It would be bad to close yourself up to everyone… believe me, I know what that's like. It took forever for me to open up to someone, because I always knew that somehow, someway, I would lose them… and in the end, I guess I did._

Cowpoke frowned at that, but he saw Jill write some more so he kept silent.

_I think we should make the most of what time left we have. The more we try, the more likely we might be able to open up again… and the better off we'll be when the time comes for separation._

Cowpoke understood what Jill was getting at, but he shook his head. "…but…but I don't wanna just…I mean, I would totally be for the idea… it's just that I'm sure you probably don't… feel the same way as I do…"

Jill wrote some more, smiling. When Cowpoke saw what she wrote, he was more surprised… and turned him red.

_Actually… I like you a lot. You're really adorable sometimes, and so far, you're one of the first soldiers here that I've been able to trust with knowing my past. In fact, you remind me so much of Brick that I suppose it's an instinct for really liking you…_

"…is that so…?" Cowpoke murmured, and Jill nodded. "…so… yer sayin' that even if we know it won't work…we should try anyway?" and Jill nodded again.

Cowpoke looked at her with a slight gawk, but he stepped closer. "…so…you wouldn't get mad…if I…?" he trailed off, and Jill grew confused… until he propped a finger up underneath her chin, making her blush slightly. "…if I just…ya know…?" Cowpoke was a bit red in the face too, but he looked at her with a sincere look.

The two ended up staring at each other, growing so quiet that they even tried to hide the sound of their breath. Jill, though, eventually smiled just a little bit, and nodded in reassurance that Cowpoke was alright to do it.

Cowpoke slowly leaned in, and Jill remained there, waiting for him and closing her eyes. He swallowed silently and nervously, because it had been a long time since it was the last time he kissed a girl, but he also knew that he couldn't keep her waiting.

Since he was a bit nervous, he pressed his lips against Jill's so suddenly that Jill's eyes popped back open in some slight surprise. After that, Jill closed her eyes again, and Cowpoke wrapped his arms around her. He felt such an overwhelming wave of relief sweep over him… a moment where he could finally express his feelings so freely…

…behind the bushes, someone tip-toed toward them, and when they saw the two of them kissing like that, they stopped.

"…guess they were alright after all, huh Sonia?" Ivory supposed in a whisper to the only other figure with her.

"...seems like it." Sonia whispered back to her. "...I figure we should leave them on their own, eh, Ivory?" she added, smiling a bit.

"…why not?" Ivory said with a shrug, turning around and walking away.

Shooting her a brief look, Sonia then looked back at Jill and Cowpoke. "...best of luck to ya." she whispered to herself, before she walked after Ivory, smiling contently.

* * *

><p>…<em>so…the woman with the two minds has been through much more than I previously assumed, <em>Meta thought.

"That's putting it mildly." Sage commented.

"...so, did that put things into perspective?" King hummed, tilting his head.

…_it did,_ Meta nodded. _…but…that still leaves me with questions…_

"Like?" Ani asked.

…_King's powers… _Meta murmured. _…they are far too familiar to be anything else but what I remember from my counterpart…_

King folded his arms. "...like I told you, I can't recall how I got these powers..."

"...perhaps the answer to that is somewhere in your subconscious?" Sage mused, looking at Meta.

_I have searched my subconscious thoroughly, in my deep slumber, _Meta thought. _…I do not have the answer to that… only one who would have files of all of your experiments would know the answer._

"The only one that could possibly have any files on us was the Colonel," Hunter said. "…and he died years ago…"

"...though..." King hummed, rubbing his chin. "...maybe..."

"...maybe what?" Queen blinked, looking at King.

"...of course! The Commander!" King uttered, snapping his fingers. "She must be able to access the Colonel's files, since she's in charge of GUN, and all."

"...true enough." Sage nodded. "I have my doubts that he'd delete those files..."

"...then..." At that point, Miser brightened up a bit. "...maybe we could ask Wiper to check that out with the Commander?"

"That'd be great!" Ani said, growing excited.

…_so your friend is still with GUN, _Meta responded with amuse.

"Yep; he decided to stick around there, which I suppose works out." King shrugged. "It does give us a proper link when we need to relay things to the commander."

"And an excuse to speak to Wiper as often as we please." Queen remarked with a chuckle.

"I wonder how they're doing, anyhow?" Hunter murmured.

_I suppose you will find out once you contact him…_ Meta presumed.

"True enough." King nodded.

"...though... until we clarify that, what will you do?" Proxy hummed, glancing at Meta again.

_I will remain away from the eyes of others, _Meta replied. _I've caused enough trouble on this island already…_

"...well, as long as no one spots you, I suppose you could stay around here." Proxy mused. "If it's alright with everyone else, here?"

"Fine by me!" Ani exclaimed.

"I have no objections to that." Queen mused.

"...fine by me." Miser nodded.

"Sure." Sage said in agreement.

"...guess it's pretty much decided, then." King hummed, folding his arms.

_Very well…_ Meta nodded. _…I will stay here in this building, in the back rooms._

"Sounds like a plan, kekeke." Ripper hummed.

"Right; then I'll call up Wiper regarding those files." King nodded.

Sage let out a small, bemused sigh. "Things sure have been hectic today, haven't they...?" she mused.

"Yeah, they sure have," Ani remarked. "…is it time to open the door and let the others in now?"

"...I suppose." Sage hummed. "Let's let them in." With that, she glanced at the door, and opened it with her mind.

When the door opened, everyone sitting outside turned their heads in notice. "Looks like they're all done talking," Ivory said.

"Seems that way." Mia hummed. "Can we come in?"

"Yep." Sage nodded. "Any of you guys hungry, or anything?"

Ivory shrugged, "Why not…?"

Brute whisked up Mud-Pie and Joy toddled toward Sonia, raising her arms and jumping. "Uppy Sonia! Uppy!"

"Up? Alrighty, then." Sonia chuckled, as she picked Joy up.

Joy giggled, while the rest of them entered into the pub; somewhat avoiding Meta warily, while he just walked toward the backrooms along with Hunter.

Taking their seats, they looked at the others. "...so, what'd you guys agree on?" Mia hummed.

"Actually, we aren't quite sure yet," Ani said. "We're going to contact a friend of ours in GUN to see if we can resolve the issue."

"I see," Ivory replied.

That was when Ani noticed some people missing. "…um…where's Jill? And Cowpoke for that matter?"

"…they're having a little… "talk"," Ivory murmured.

"Yeah... a 'talk'." Sonia nodded.

Though she made sure that the others didn't notice it, Sage withheld a small chuckle, as she instantly figured out what Jill and Cowpoke were 'talking' about.

"...well, they'll come around later, I suppose." King hummed with a shrug.

"Anyway, what'll you all have, huh?" Ani went to tie the apron around her waist again.

* * *

><p>Later that night...<p>

"...so, how have you been, Wiper?" King hummed, as he was currently on the phone; calling up Wiper.

_"I've been better and worse." _Wiper responded. _"Me and Charmy decided to be a bit lenient, and we gave Newt, Natal, Boomer and Calculate a vacation. As a result... I'm kind of swamped."_

"Nothing out of the ordinary, then." King mused with a chuckle. "...so, I was just wondering about-"

_"You want me to relay a message to the Commander, huh?"_ Wiper chuckled. _"Same as always... what do you need?"_

King let out a quick sigh, before he rubbed his neck. "...I need the Colonel's files. Of us."

Silence from the other end. _"...why would you ever want those?"_ Wiper inquired.

"...something came up, and I need to read up on our personal files... we've been so busy over here in Safe Haven, so the thought never hit me." King responded

_"...you know, this _is_ delicate information, King."_ Wiper hummed. _"We discovered recently that someone's managed to crack the database of the Colonel's files; though the Commander moved them to a more secure server."_

Hunter walked into the room then, though he noticed that King was currently on the phone, so he kept silent.

_"...well... I'll relay a message to the Commander. Getting the files might be tricky, but I'll see what I can do."_ Wiper mused. _"If nothing else, at least I tried."_

"...yeah; guess that's what matters." King mused with a chuckle. "...where'd you say that the others were vacationing, anyway?"

_"...well, Natal decided to bring Cal over to meet her family, while Newt and Boomer went to participate in an Extreme Gear tournament." _Wiper replied. _"They'll all probably be back by the end of the week, though."_

"I see." King nodded. "Then you got it taken care of?"

_"As best as I can."_ Wiper replied. _"Tell the others that I said hi, would you?"_

"Sure thing, Wiper." King chuckled. "You do the same with Team Chaotix, you hear?"

_"...sure."_ Wiper chuckled in return. _"I'll call you up later."_ With that, he hung up.

"So they're all vacationing right now?" Hunter asked King once he hung up the phone too.

"Well, Newt, Natal, Cal and Boomer are; Wiper's stuck with work." King hummed. "He's taking care of things..."

"Is that right?" Hunter folded his arms. "I can understand making sure things get done, but he needs a hobby…what did he say about the files?"

"He's gonna ask the Commander if we can get access to 'em." King replied. "Though he didn't promise anything, so we'll just have to wait and see..." Then, he folded his arms. "...then... he said something about someone having hacked their way into the Colonel's files..."

Hunter's eyes widened. "What? Someone actually hacked into that?"

"...seems like it." King hummed. "He didn't seem to know who had done it; though I bet that any future attempts at hacking it should prove futile."

"…but knowing that there was somebody out there that tried to hack it…" Hunter shook his head. "…now that's going to bug me for a while…"

"...me too," King hummed, narrowing his eyes. "...though, we shouldn't let it get to us for long."

"…right…" Hunter murmured. "…Hey King? Are Wiper and Charmy still… you know… looking for her?"

King was silent for a bit, as he looked down at the floor. "...yeah." he sighed.

Hunter fell silent for a bit too.

"…do you think we should…you know…tell them? It's been almost an entire year since Jill was seen last…"

King rubbed his neck a little. "...I dunno..." he hummed. "...I mean... Jill was hit pretty hard by all this... I think we should keep this as a secret, for her sake."

"…right…" Hunter nodded.

"...well..." Humming, King got on his feet. "...it's night-time." he mused, before he looked at Hunter. "I'm thinking of hitting the pub before I hit the hay. You feel like tagging along?"

"Sure thing," Hunter said. "…let's not get drunk though; I'm still embarrassed about what happened during Christmas time…"

King chuckled, as he playfully hit Hunter's shoulder. "Whatever ya say, Hunter." he laughed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Will they get drunk? Tune in next week to find out! XD<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

_One Month Later…_

* * *

><p>Before they knew it, a special little birthday came up.<p>

Joy's.

Everyone was gathered around her little high chair, singing "Happy Birthday" to Joy in a little party hat while she sat there with a tiny slice of cake that Jill cut up, and they stuck a single lit candle on there for her. Joy's eyes were wide, marveling at the tiny cake, and once everyone was done singing, cheering and clapping, Joy reached for the cake slice with her hand.

Jill would giggle if she could, and she went to blow the candle out for her and stuck a fork in Joy's hand instead.

With that, everyone else grabbed a slice of cake and started to enjoy the party.

"Wow! She's one year old now! Isn't that great?" Ani exclaimed, shoveling cake into her mouth.

"It's beyond great, if you ask me!" Sonia chuckled, as she was eating her slice of cake a bit calmer.

Jill sat there, looking around at everyone with a small smile on her face… but in reality, she was a bit sad inside. Joy's first birthday was quite a milestone… She imagined what it would've been like if she was with the Professor and the boys having Joy's first birthday.

…what it would've been like if Brick was here…

Jill looked over at Joy, and stopped with a wide smile. Joy had totally disregarded the fork and shoved handfuls of cake into her mouth, so now there was frosting and crumbs all over her face. When Joy saw the look on Jill's face, she started giggling and clapping her hands.

Ani burst into laughter, "that is ADORABLE!"

"I'll say," Cowpoke chuckled.

"Now _that's_ just cute." Sage mused with a chuckle.

"You're telling me." Sonia replied, as she was grinning widely as well.

Jill would've giggled so much at this sight. In fact, that made Jill so cheerful that she totally forgot about her inner depression, and she went to go clean up Joy's face.

"...y'know, if we weren't grown-ups, it'd be tempting to just follow Joy's example." King hummed with a slight chuckle.

"Oh! Oh! A cake fight!" Ani was bouncing in her seat.

"Hey now, I don't think Sonia would appreciate cake being thrown around in her cabin," Hunter muttered.

"...hm..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin. "...actually, it _is_ tempting... but I say we wait until after Joy's done. Wouldn't want her to get hurt, right?"

"How thoughtful." Sage mused, smiling a bit.

Ani laughed, while Hunter just chuckled a little bit and rolled his eyes. "Same as always Sonia…"

"Well, ya can't fault the classics." Sonia shrugged, chuckling a bit as well.

"…we sure have a lot of fun here at Safe Haven," Mud-Pie said with a laugh. "I'm glad that you took me here Dad!"

"Sure thing, son," Cowpoke chuckled, rubbing his boy's head. "The year's been tough on you, but you really showed what you can do little feller, and you make yer old man proud."

Mud Pie beamed.

"Yeah; we've all grown a lot while we were here." Rott hummed, chuckling a bit.

"Indeed." Merde mused.

"Say, I know Cowpoke's reason for being here, but why did the four of your tag along?" Hunter asked curiously.

"They've all been through the worst of times together!" Mud-Pie said, and Smokey nodded in agreement.

"Ayup; we've been through thick and thin together." Rott mused with a nod.

"...that's true." Merde nodded.

"Is that so..." Sage hummed.

Listening to this, Jill suddenly remembered something that she forgot to ask a long time ago, and she snatched up her notepad to write. Eventually, she tore out the note and she handed it to Sonia.

_What about you Sonia?_ The rattlesnake read. _What are your reasons for joining Safe Haven?_

Sonia blinked at that, rubbing her neck a bit. _...my reasons... huh..._ she thought.

Jill tilted her head, and looked around at the others that started to get a little nervous; except Cowpoke and his group, who was just as bewildered and curious as she was.

"...it's... a long story." Sonia eventually said, giving Jill a smile. "I'll tell you later, alright? There's still cake left to eat, after all."

Jill smiled with a nod.

Then there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get that." King said, as he got out of his seat, and headed for the door; opening it.

"Oh, King, good, you're here," Stella was standing there, and she nodded. "Your friend, Wiper called? Said something about some files?"

Hunter's eyes widened and he stood up. "You mean they're here?"

"...is that right?" King hummed. "...alright, I getcha." he hummed, before he looked back at the others. "Sorry; I've gotta check on those files, so I'm afraid I have to leave. Anyone else coming along?"

Hunter looked at the two at the door, and then he turned to Jill. "Sorry Jill…I'm gonna go if that's okay?"

Jill nodded.

"...I suppose I'll come along, too. If that's alright with you, Jill...?" Sage hummed, glancing at Jill as well.

Jill nodded again.

"Right." Sage nodded. "Shall we, King?"

"Yeah." King nodded, before he gave Jill a nod. "See you later, then." With that, he, Stella, Hunter and Sage left.

"…hope they don't take too long," Ani said, leaning back in her seat.

"Aren't you curious about your dad's file there, sport?" Cowpoke asked.

"…it's probably none of my business to be honest…" Ani murmured. "…if he wanted me to see it, then he'd show it to me later…"

"...I suppose she has a point..." Merde mused, as he glanced at Cowpoke.

"Abba! Abba!" Jill looked over at Joy, and she was trying to reach for the cake that was on the table, but being in her high chair, there was no way she was able to reach it. Jill smiled in amusement.

"Looks like she wants some more cake," Ani snickered.

"Seems like it." Sonia chuckled. "Want me to cut her another slice, Jill?"

Jill smiled and nudged her head, telling her to go ahead.

* * *

><p>"…so…he really sent the files huh?" Hunter uttered.<p>

"Yup." King nodded. "I'm actually a bit surprised that the Commander allowed it..."

"…well, it's just us," Hunter said, "so I assume that the Commander would sympathize…" The four of them headed toward the pub, which was closed right now, and when they walked inside, they saw Proxy, Omega, and Meta standing inside there.

"...they're here." Proxy hummed.

"Right." Sage nodded. "So, Meta... are you ready to have your question answered?"

Meta nodded.

They went over to the table, and sure enough, there were a big stack of files sitting there.

Hunter just gawked at them. "…you know…I've never even gotten a chance to look at them myself…"

"...none of us have." Sage mused. "This could answer a lot of questions..."

"...first, the one Meta wondered about." As King said that, he began looking through the files, until he found the one detailing information about him.

There were numerous typed documents, DNA samples, and pictures that came out of it. The document in the very front of it all was printed out. Hunter went to read some of it. "…the Colonel's journal entries…" he growled.

"...let me see this." Sage hummed, as she picked up the document, and began reading it out loud.

_"...the first generation turned out to be a huge success; making me question why such a method of training soldiers hasn't been practiced before now. Nevertheless, it's time to move on to bigger things, as we take a look at the next generation. We have located three people who would be perfect guinea pigs for how the generation would start; the first is a member of the infamous Leoniel family, the second has shown innate psychokinetic abilities, and the third seems to have a certain talent for leadership. Perhaps something could be done to enhance the third one's combat capabilities..."_

"…that was you, me and Johnny, King…" Hunter murmured.

Stella looked at all of them worriedly, while Meta just continued to watch Sage to continue.

_"...all three of them have been through intensive training to hone their abilities; with the Leoniel performing excellently in all regards. The psychokinetic one, in spite of performing well, has shown huge signs of reluctance to battle during a full moon. The third one, while his physical strength is remarkable, needs something... more. I surmise that there might be something aboard the Space Colony ARK I could use to enhance his strength..."_

"...bastard..." King growled.

_**"...what would he find aboard the ARK?"**_ Omega hummed.

Meta's head perked up. _…now I know…_

Everyone glanced at Meta for that. "...what?" King inquired.

…_the Colonel must have infiltrated the file on her genealogy in order to genetically give you the same powers she once had…_

King blinked. "...seriously?"

…_keep reading, _Meta reassured. _…perhaps it will confirm my suspicions._

Narrowing her eyes a bit, Sage kept reading.

_"...when we arrived on the ARK, we discovered a cryostasis pod, wherein a strange life form was found; deceased. Upon reading some research files, we found that this life form had innate electrical abilities when it was still alive... and it seemed related to the Black Arms creatures that Shadow the Hedgehog had once dealt with. It piqued my curiosity... perhaps there's something we can use here..."_

Stella looked at Meta in shock. "…you…were right."

"...well, I'll be..." King uttered.

Sage looked at Meta. "...would you like me to continue?"

Meta looked to the ground. _…that answers my question for him…but I wish to look at your file, Sage…if King shares her power, then you might share mine…_

Sage hummed, before she looked through the files to locate her own file.

"…found it," Hunter said, pulling out a random file. "…it was underneath Desperado's…"

"...hm." Sage hummed, as she took the file, and opened it. "Let's see, here..."

Like King's, text documents, DNA samples, and pictures sprawled out, all of them being a much younger Sage.

"...hn... been a while..." she mused, before she looked through the text documents. "...let's see... anything about experimentation, here...?"

Meta came over and looked through the text.

…_there._ Finally, Meta pointed to a particular paragraph.

_"...after we recruited a being who stuck with our first DNA experiment for most of his training, we discovered another creature aboard the ARK; this one, however, was live, yet also frozen like the previous creature. Records indicate serious mental powers within the creature. We recently recruited a fairly bright girl... perhaps another experiment would be in order...?"_

…_as I thought…_ Meta murmured.

"...so they used both you and your friend to give King and Sage their powers..." Proxy hummed, folding his arms. "...that's..."

"...hold on." At that point, King quickly rummaged through the files, before he found one in particular. "There's something I just gotta know, while we got the chance." With that, he opened the file, and let its contents spill out on the counter.

This was Miser's file.

Hunter's eyes widened. "That's right…she's immortal. I've always really wondered what the hell they accomplished to do that…"

"...let me see..." Sage hummed, as she took the notes, and began reading through them, until...

_"...the last child of the third generation... if she can overcome the trials that I'll set out for all three generations, then I have succeeded in creating the perfect breed of soldier. While the other subjects have proven themselves incredibly adept with their abilities, this is what it all hinges on. If implanting Shadow the Hedgehog's DNA into her will grant her immortality..._

_...then the perfect soldier is just in reach."_

After reading that, Sage just dropped the document in sheer disgust.

"…no!" Hunter just snarled and gripped the table. "How could they?"

"...damn bastards..." King snarled; a brief tingle of electricity crackling across his fur.

Even Sage, who was usually so composed, looked visibly repulsed at what she had read.

Both Proxy and Omega shot a glance at each other; unsure on whether or not to remain silent.

…_so your friend is immortal… _Meta thought. _…who knew she had such a legacy?_

Hunter just kept growling… and then slowly, his eyes looked over to one particular file sitting there… "…there is something else I've always wondered about…" he murmured, slowly taking the file that he was eying. "…if they did all that stuff to us…just what could they have put Johnny through, huh?"

For the file that was in Hunter's hand was Johnny file.

Narrowing his eyes, King took that file, and opened it up, picking out one of the documents. "...weird... this one's got a later date than the others we've read..." He narrowed his eyes. "...in fact... it's dated a few days after the one about Miser."

"...why is that?" Sage hummed, as she took the file to see what Johnny had gone through on his own. "...hrm... nothing too spectacular; from what I can tell, he's just gotten through all his training sessions with a perfect score." She rolled her eyes. "Just by reading this, it's like the Colonel was sucking up to Johnny because of how strong he was..."

"...I think I might know why." King eventually said. "I found something _really_ interesting here."

Hunter came over to look, and so did a reluctant Stella. Even Sage, Proxy and Omega did.

_"...he's exceeded all of my expectations. He has singlehandedly surpassed every other member of the first generation, and is the strongest out of the entire second generation... I believe he's the one I've been waiting for. The DNA tests we've conducted have proven satisfactory, and with his incredible durability... once he's brought the immortal subject back to base, we'll begin transplanting the DNA from both of those creatures, along with the immortal one's DNA; as getting samples from Shadow has proven to be difficult. Sure, creating immortal soldiers will benefit us greatly... but only this one has proven himself worthy of becoming the general of those soldiers."_

Silence.

"...so... _that's_ why he came to kill us that night." King uttered, clenching his hands around the document. "So that damn Colonel could make him all-powerful..."

Hunter looked away in disgust. "…and what we sacrificed to kill him… it wasn't worth the lives of Desperado, and Bliss, and Sprinter…"

"…I…I had no idea you guys…w-went through that," Stella uttered, looking up at all of them.

"...there's a lot you don't know about us, hon." Sage sighed, rubbing Stella's head. "Hate to say it, but it's something you should get used to."

"…man…I really feel sorry for Jack…" Hunter muttered.

Stella looked at Hunter questionably. "Who?"

"…he's a friend of ours…" Hunter muttered. "…and he's Johnny's nephew…"

Stella's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know; pretty surprising, huh?" Sage hummed. "Jack didn't even know that Johnny existed until about three years ago..."

Stella blinked. "…how did you guys find out…?"

Hunter averted his eyes uneasily. "…that's an awfully long story there…"

_I can agree on that, _Meta added.

"...hrm..." Sage hummed, as she looked at the others. "...you think we should let her know?"

The room became quiet, and they looked at Stella. "…well…it's really long, but do you really want to know?" Hunter muttered.

"…I… I guess," Stella replied nervously, stroking her feathers.

"...alright..." Sage hummed, as she closed her eyes. "...but I warn you; it's not going to be pleasant."

* * *

><p>"Hoo... I'm stuffed." Sonia said with a light chuckle, rubbing her neck a bit.<p>

Joy was babbling on and playing with her little toys that she got for her birthday, giggling and having a ball. Mud-Pie was playing with her, and he was having just as much fun as she was. The hounds and everyone else left, except Cowpoke, who sat next to Jill and watched the two of them play contently. Sonia glanced at them and smiled a bit, too.

"…didn't think her first birthday would be like this, huh?" Cowpoke chuckled, and Jill shrugged with a smile.

"...well, it went by smoothly, I'd say." Sonia hummed.

"Sure did…" Cowpoke said, nodding. "…wonder what next year's going to be like for her…"

"...same here," Sonia hummed.

Cowpoke eventually looked back at Sonia. "…say Sonia… you think it'd be alright to tell us 'bout ya now, since ev'rybody's gone?"

Jill had almost forgotten about that again, and she looked up at Sonia in wondering.

Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin a bit... before she sighed. "It's not the brightest of stories, but I guess I can tell it, anyway." Then, she looked at them. "So, where do you want me to start?"

"…uh…somewhere in the beginning I guess," Cowpoke murmured, scratching his head underneath his hat. "Maybe where yer from? What growin' up was like? Why you joined Safe Haven?"

"...hm..." Sonia grimaced slightly. "...growing up didn't go by as well as I wished it'd have. Our family was pretty poor, and the neighborhood wasn't exactly top-notch, in terms of the others living there..."

Cowpoke sat up straight and leaned forward. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Sonia hummed. "When I was a kid, I didn't really notice; my parents kept me in the dark regarding the more shady types around the block. But as I grew older, I began catching on that, well... living there wasn't a good idea."

_Sonia remembered the neighborhood clear as day. In was downtown in a city, in an area where there were a lot of old, broken down buildings, graffiti plastered all over the walls everywhere, and there were homeless Mobians sitting out on the streets in front of trash can fires, just to keep themselves warm. The entire neighborhood wasn't the cleanest place to live in either…_

_Walking through those streets, wearing a coat to keep herself warm, was a younger Sonia, who just glanced at the various homeless Mobians with a slight sense of pity in her eyes. Some of them didn't bother to look back at her, but one or two held up a cup and asked if she had any pocket change._

_She simply shook her head in reply to those, as she kept walking; shivering a bit due to the cold. After all, this memory was during Christmas time, and while it didn't snow, there was a chill in the air._

_Rubbing her hands together to generate a bit of warmth, she kept walking down the street._

"What kind of things happened in your neighborhood?" Cowpoke asked.

Sonia hummed. "...not exactly pleasant things." she mused. "Y'see, there was this pub around there which was supposed to be condemned, but a gang of thugs had taken refuge there and made it into a smaller business of their own; kinda like a den of thieves..."

_She remembered hearing laughter coming from a building, and she looked. Even if the doors were bolted down by boards, there was still the faint sound of music and laughter, and a small light in there._

_It intrigued her a bit, and she tried getting a better view of what was going on in there._

_Inside were a bunch of rough looking Mobian's gathered around a large crate with a lantern, smoking cigars and laughing like they were having a good old time. Some of them were sharpening knifes while others were cleaning guns that they had._ _Seeing those Mobians intimidated Sonia a bit; though she was curious about one thing... why did they seem so jovial, when everyone else were so dreary?_

"_That robbery sure got us a lot of booze, huh?" snickered one of them._

"_Best thing to warm up with in the wintertime, I'd say!" cackled another one._

"_And none of those homeless jerk-offs can have any of it; they wasted everything they have, and they didn't steal it fair and square like we did!"_

_They all laughed._

"_Pretty soon, they'll all be begging for food from us, and we'll get even more recruits into our gang!" another chimed._

_Sonia gulped. Thieves? That wasn't a good sign. With a slight shudder, she turned away; hopefully so she could find someone to tell this to._

_She ran into someone though… someone that towered over her, and in the dark of the night, she couldn't really tell what they looked like. All she could see were cold, merciless eyes looking down at her._ _She was instantly struck with terror, though, as she backed a bit away; just looking up at those eyes._

_Next thing she knew, she was yanked up, and the giant figure barged into the pub through the back entrance. "We have a peeping tom, over here," boomed the large figure, tossing Sonia across the crate to shatter it and startle the thugs._

_They all grew alarmed and jumped to their feet, glaring at Sonia._

_Gulping, Sonia tried hiding herself inside of her coat; just looking nervously at all of the thugs surrounding her._

"_What's the big idea, huh girl?" growled one of them, while all of them circled around her._

_"...I... I just heard laughter come from here!" she quickly said, growing more panicked by the minute. "I've never heard anyone laugh around here before, so I just got curious... I didn't mean to eavesdrop!"_

"_Oh yeah?" one of them pointed a gun right at Sonia's face, growling at her. "Well guess what, you little brat? We can't let tattle-tales like you roaming around telling off to the cops that we're here…"_

_"Ah!" Seeing that, Sonia grew so terrified that she started to cry. "I-I'm sorry! D-don't shoot me! I won't tell anybody! I... I'll do anything; just don't kill me, please!"_

"_Like we'll really believe that?" The thug scoffed, pressing the gun right against her forehead._

_"N-no! Please, don't!" Sonia pleaded. "Don't shoot!"_

_Just as the thug pulled the trigger, a very loud bang burst into the air…_

…_but it wasn't from the thug's gun. In fact, the gun was blown right out of the thug's hand, and his hand was all bloody. He gave out a shriek and backed away, while all the thugs shot terrified looks at the door._

_Her eyes widening considerably, Sonia looked over towards the door as well._

_A tall figure stood there with a couple of magnums in their hands, and a hat that was tipped down in front of their face to hide their identity. There was a long purple braid that whipped around the back of their head in the wintertime wind, and so did their buttoned up trench coat._

_Sonia recognized this figure as one of the homeless people that were sitting out there in the street, and she just lied there, looking at the figure with wide eyes._

"_What the hell is the big idea?" roared the large one that shoved Sonia in here in the first place._

"…_I don't take kindly to ruthless thugs doing whatever the hell they please…" the figure spoke, revealing themselves to be a woman from the sound of the voice. "…and I might not have a dollar to my name, but at least I know how to defend myself and other people…and I'm sick of all your harassing…"_

_When the woman moved her head up, they all saw an angry glint in her eyes._

_All the thugs cowered at that, look, except for the large one who walked up to her. "Beat it…"_

_Then he stopped when the woman pointed the guns at him. "Let her go, and I might not tear you all up so badly…"_

_Sonia just looked at the woman in awe._

"…_hell no… we've been building this operation for too long!" the large one in front of the woman growled. "You think we're going to let some kid go after—!"_

_BANG!_

_The thugs gasped when they heard that sound, and the large thug fell silent. Sonia, on the other hand, fell deadly silent, covering her mouth with her hands as she looked at the thug._

_Slowly but surely, the large thug eventually fell onto the ground with a large THUD; with a big, bloody hole in his forehead leaking onto the floor. One of the woman's guns were smoking "You don't let her go, and one of you will be next," the woman snarled._

_Sonia would have screamed, but she was just too dumbstruck to say anything._

"…_f-f-f-fine! T-t-take her!" uttered one of the thugs, picking Sonia up off the ground and shoving her toward the woman._

_The woman just grunted, and withdrew her magnums within her trench coat. "…c'mon…I'll take you home…" she said down to Sonia._

_Sonia just shuddered, before she nodded. "...th-thanks..." she uttered. The woman nodded, and nudged Sonia out the door._

"_This isn't over!" yelled one of the thugs. "When the rest of our boys get here, we'll hunt you down!"_

"_Fat chance," the woman spat back at them, shutting the door behind her to follow Sonia._

_As she walked along, Sonia just looked down at the ground. "...um... th-thank you..." she uttered, rubbing her arm._

"_You need to be really careful in a neighborhood like this," the woman scolded. "You shouldn't even be wandering around at night by yourself. Where are your parents?"_

_Sonia glanced away guiltily. "...they're at home... I was going to get groceries for them..." As she spoke, she rubbed her neck. "...and... I thought I could surprise them by finding a Christmas gift for them, too..."_

_The woman became silent. "…is that so…?" she murmured._

_"...yeah." Sonia nodded. "We don't have a lot of money, and... well, I wanted to make my folks smile a little; since it's Christmas, and all..."_

"…_be lucky for what you have…" the woman murmured. "…I don't even have anything to give my son for Christmas…"_

_"...oh..." Sonia uttered, glancing back at the woman. "...I'm sorry to hear that..."_

"…_don't worry about it; there's always going to be someone worse off than you," the woman said. "Just be thankful for what you have."_

_"...right..." Sonia nodded._

"Did you happen to catch the woman's name?" Cowpoke asked.

"...no; she didn't say." Sonia shrugged. "Even so, she helped me with getting the groceries..." Then, she looked up at the ceiling. "...but what happened that day... it made me think."

"…'bout what?" Cowpoke asked again.

"...back then... I almost got myself killed, and I was saved by someone a lot stronger than me." she hummed, drumming her fingers together. "...but... I got inspired. I didn't wanna be the kind of girl who'd always need saving... rather, I wanted to actually _do_ some of the saving, like that woman did."

"…guess that makes sense…" Cowpoke murmured.

The way that Sonia described the woman sounded quite familiar to Jill, so of course she was very curious about her.

"...sad thing was, I never met her again after that." Sonia mused. "After I moved away from there, I tried finding out where she had gone, but she was a recluse, to say the least." Then, Sonia hummed. "...in any case, I started to train to get stronger. Around three years after that day, I noticed that a tournament was gonna be held, with a large sum of cash going to the winner." Then, she smiled. "I was confident in my skills, and I wanted my folks to be able to move out of that neighborhood, so I instantly signed on for the whole shebang."

_That large crowd cheered when Sonia came out onto the area. It was in an underground building, and the arena was basically just the floor that the crowd circled. Cracking her neck, Sonia just waited for her opponent to show up._

_From in the middle of the crowd, her opponent weaved their way through…_

_Still, Sonia remained calm, narrowing her eyes as she looked at her incoming foe._

"So…who was your opponent?" Cowpoke asked.

Sonia chuckled. "I have my doubts that you'll believe this, but..." she began, drumming her fingers together. "...my opponent was... Raider."

Cowpoke's eyes widened. "What?"

_That black ox stepped through the crowd, standing over Sonia with a smug grin on his face._

_Looking up at the ox, Sonia just gave him a brief bow, out of respect for her opponent._

"_Sure are polite, aren't you?" the ox chuckled._

_"Why wouldn't I be?" Sonia inquired, before she got in a stance; ready for anything the ox would throw at her._

_The ox shrugged and got in his own stance, watching Sonia carefully._

_Eventually, Sonia made the first move; dropping into a hand-stand, and aiming a kick right at the ox's gut. The ox grabbed her foot and threw her over instead. Quickly landing on her feet, Sonia grit her teeth, before she ran to trip the ox with a sweep kick. The ox got thrown to the ground thanks to the kick, and for a moment, hitting the ground stunned him. Wasting no time, Sonia flipped up into the air, and aimed a drop kick on the downed ox. The ox gave a pained grunt and the crowd cheered. Although the ox wasn't done yet, and when he jumped up, he managed to pin Sonia down. Sonia let out a yelp, before she tried kicking the ox off her._

_The ox was kicked off, and he gave a little distance. "You're pretty feisty…" he chuckled._

_Getting on her feet, Sonia shook her head. "What's that supposed to mean?" she uttered, glaring at the ox._

"_Hey, don't get worked up; it was a compliment," the ox chuckled. "Although when we get down to it, you _are_ fairly attractive for someone as young as you…" Sonia grew a concerned expression when she heard that. She was _not_ liking this ox's behavior right now…_

"_Hell, you're not too young either," the ox chuckled, walking up to her with a smirk. Instinctively, Sonia took a step back; narrowing her eyes. "What's the matter?" The ox sneered. _

_"...you're a creep; _that's_ the matter." Sonia retorted._

"…_who, me?" the ox asked innocently stepping even closer._

_"Yeah; you." Sonia nodded. "Why else would you be getting so close to me?"_

"_Because you've got the body of a super model; that's why," the ox chuckled._

_Instantly, Sonia backed a bit away again. "See? Creep."_ _she uttered._

"_So?" the ox scoffed._

_"...so... you get what creeps deserve!"_

_With a small yell, Sonia suddenly aimed a kick right at his open weak point; putting all of her might behind that kick._

"_Ooof!" That kick was strong enough that the ox was knocked down, and he wasn't able to get up this time. The crowd cheered excitedly around them. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sonia just glanced at the crowd around her._

"Did you win the tournament?" Cowpoke asked.

"I actually did." Sonia said with a slight laugh, rubbing her neck. "I was as surprised as anyone else. The first thing I did was take the majority of the prize money and give it to my folks, so they could move someplace better. The rest... well, a bit of it went to... celebrating the victory."

_"Gimme the strongest you got!" Now in a pub, Sonia looked at the bartender with a content smile. "I feel like rewarding myself for winning today!"_

"_Alrighty…but you're asking for it," the bartender said, walking away to make the drink._

"…you didn't…" Cowpoke murmured.

"...I was excited and naïve, alright?" Sonia laughed sheepishly. "It was my first time, too, so I figured it'd just be appropriate."

Jill would've giggled if she could.

"Well…I started drinking before you did, so I can't say anything 'bout it…" Cowpoke murmured. "…anyway…what else happened?"

"...well... while I was drunk? I can't remember; I was too smashed back then... but when I woke up, well..." Then, she giggled. "...let's just say that old problems die hard."

_Blinking, she looked up at the ceiling; finding herself in a bed. As she glanced to the side, she saw someone lying next to her..._

_...and it hit her like a truck. Blushing instantly, she shot up in a sitting position, holding her head. _...did I... _really_ get that drunk?_ she thought._

_The movement caused the other one to wake up suddenly, and they sat up to rub their head a bit. "…what a night…" he murmured, turning around to look at Sonia. It was a moth Mobian with a lot of long hair, partly covering his eyes. _

_Then he saw Sonia's look. "…is…something wrong…?" he uttered._

_Looking at the moth, Sonia blinked, before she glanced away again. "...I... don't even know what happened last night..." Then, she looked back at the moth. "...did we...?"_

_The moth grew silent, and looked down onto the bed. "…I think we did…"_

_Sonia turned bright red, and glanced down as well. "...holy... that was my first time, too..." she murmured._

"…_o-oh… was it?" the moth uttered in surprise. "…I-I'm sorry…"_

_"Ah- no, don't apologize; it wasn't your fault..." Sonia quickly said, looking at the moth. "...um... you wouldn't happen to know... which one of us started it?"_

"…_I don't really remember…" the moth murmured. "…oh! By the way, my name's Autumn…" He lifted up the hair that was in front of his face, revealing sapphire eyes. "What's your name?"_

_Sonia just blinked, looking at those eyes. "...uh... my name's Sonia..." she replied._

_Autumn held out his hand to Sonia to shake. "…nice to meet you Sonia," he said._

_Looking at the hand, Sonia grabbed it and shook it. "...nice to meet you too, Autumn..."_

"…_well…as it turns out…it was kinda my first time too…" Autumn said shyly, scratching his head. "…but like I said before… I don't really remember much of what happened…"_

_"...really?" Sonia blinked. "...well... guess that makes two of us in more than one regard..."_

"Sounds awkward," Cowpoke remarked.

"You have _no_ idea." Sonia remarked.

"Well, what about this Autumn guy?" Cowpoke asked. "Did you even get to know him at all, or was that the only time you guys even met?"

"...well..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her neck. "...we... began meeting each other after that, and... we actually began dating after a while. But..."

"…but?" Cowpoke questioned.

Sonia sighed. "...it didn't last. Autumn eventually had to move somewhere else... and I never heard from him again. No letters, no calls... kind of a bummer."

"Sorry to hear that," Cowpoke murmured, and Jill nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about it." Sonia shrugged. "I mean, it was years ago; I've gotten over it since then."

Cowpoke nodded. "…so then…when did you find out about Safe Haven?"

Sonia hummed, tapping her cheek. "...actually... when it was first announced." Sonia said, snapping her fingers. "The reason why the first generation, aside from King and his gang, was fairly small, was because the announcement only came to the town where I lived in."

"Must have been interesting to find out that it was on Prison Island…" Cowpoke murmured.

"You have no idea." Sonia chuckled. "So, the announcement came and went, and most people figured that King was out of his mind... but I figured that it could be interesting, so... I went along there, and, well... that's how it started."

"And now we're here," Cowpoke said, smiling.

"Yup." Sonia hummed with a nod.

"…wonder where the road to the future will take us," Cowpoke murmured, looking down at Mud-Pie and Joy.

Jill wondered that too… in fact, she was really thinking about what kind of future could be in store for her and Joy.

Glancing at them as well, Sonia hummed. "...one thing's for sure... the road's only going forward from here."

"That's for sure," Cowpoke said. Then he looked at the time on the wall. "…I guess I'd better be going," he said, standing up. "C'mon Mud-Pie."

"Aw, but I wanted to play with Joy some more," protested Mud-Pie.

"It's probably close to Joy's nap time," Cowpoke pointed out, and sure enough, Joy let out a small yawn.

Sonia smiled a bit. "I'm sure you can come by tomorrow. Right, Jill?"

Jill nodded, while she picked up Joy.

"Oh, okay," Mud-Pie said, heading toward the door.

"I'll see ya," Cowpoke said, giving Jill a quick kiss on the cheek before he and Mud-Pie left out the door.

Glancing at them as they left, Sonia hummed. "...actually..." she hummed, before she looked at Jill. "...I figure that I could head for the pub tonight; it's been a while for me, anyway. You think you and Joy will be fine on your own?"

Jill nodded again with a smile, sitting back in her rocking chair with Joy in her arms.

Sonia smiled back at her. "Right... but first, let's clean this place up!" she said, as she got out of her seat.

* * *

><p>"Man, Joy's birthday sure was fun," Ani said that night in the pub.<p>

"It really was!" Sonia said with a laugh, taking a sip from her mug. "And the best part is, we still got some cake left! Guess who's gonna scarf it down when she gets the munchies?" she mused with a snicker.

"Hey! I wanted more cake too!" moaned Ani teasingly. "Oh well…but I still can't believe Joy's one year old already…seems like just yesterday that Jill got here with that little tiny baby…"

"...weird how time flies by like that, huh?" Sonia mused, as she just finished off what she had gotten. "Hoo... that's the second mug tonight, isn't it?"

"Yep. Want another one?" Ani asked.

"Sure thing! Keep it coming, Ani!" Sonia laughed.

Ani went to make the drink with a cheerful smile. Things tonight were a bit slow, so there were very few other soldiers sitting here in the pub. It was enough that when the door opened, other soldiers looked to see who it was while they came in and sat near Sonia at the counter.

Blinking, Sonia glanced over to the one sitting next to her... and she gaped. "...you?"

The one sitting there looked over, and his eyes widened just a bit. "Sonia?" Lazlo muttered. Then he rubbed his forehead. "Oh boy…"

"...that's putting it lightly." Sonia uttered, tilting her head. "I haven't seen you since... _that night_..." She said that last part with a bit of resentment in her tone. "...where have you been, all this time?"

"…well…avoiding you for one…" Lazlo murmured. "…figured I'd get the hell beaten out of me after what I did…"

"...had it been a little after it happened, then _no shit,_" Sonia remarked. "But... it's been months. The least you could've done when it all died down was to at least come around and apologize."

"…well…sorry then…" he muttered. "…that was the beginning of the year and I didn't know any better like I do now…"

"...and now we're at the _end_ of the year. Kinda late for an apology, now." Sonia mused, before she rubbed her chin. "...but, if you _really_ wanna prove that you're sorry..." Then, she turned to the counter. "Ani, pour him a drink as well! On me!"

"Sure," Ani said.

Lazlo perked up and looked at Sonia in surprise.

Then, Sonia looked back at Lazlo. "...you said that you didn't drink before, right? Well, now's a good time to start, wouldn't you say?"

"…guess so," Lazlo replied.

Nodding, Sonia looked back at the counter. "How're the drinks coming along, Ani?"

Ani set a mug in front of Sonia. "There's yours," she said. Then she handed another mug to Lazlo. "And theirs yours," she said.

"…thanks," Lalzo said, taking the mug.

Taking her mug, Sonia gave Lazlo a nod. "To apologies... or something." she said, before she took a large swig of her drink.

"Right," Lazlo murmured, taking the same amount of swig… and then he spit and coughed heavily.

"You alright buddy?" Ani asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just—COUGH—went down the wrong—COUGH—pipe…" he uttered. Then he finally stopped coughing and took a napkin to wipe up what he spat. "…it's bitter…"

"...like I said, you'll get used to it." Sonia said with a light wheeze, before she hiccupped. "...man, that's the stuff..."

Lazlo took another sip, and eventually got used enough to the taste.

"...so, how's it feel?" Sonia inquired, as she took another sip.

"…not bad," Lazlo said.

"...glad to hear it." Sonia chuckled. "Just keep it up."

Eventually, the two finished their drinks, and Lazlo took a breath. "…that's a bit strong…"

"...that's the point." Sonia said with a slight slur in her tone, before she looked at Ani. "Two more, please!"

Ani set the drinks down with a chuckle, and Lalzo looked at Sonia. "You sure…?"

"Positive. Now drink up!" Sonia laughed, as she began drinking from her new mug.

Lazlo shrugged, and started to drink some more.

After taking a swig, Sonia glanced at Lazlo. "So, how's life on the island treating you?"

"…actually, it's not that bad," Lazlo told her. "Training seemed to go well for me for the year, and now that it's almost over, I feel like it all just went so fast…"

"Ah, really, now?" Sonia hummed, as she took another swig. "Made any friends?"

"…not really…" Lazlo muttered.

"...hm... that's too bad, seeing that the year's ending soon." Sonia mused, as she set her mug down.

"…well…I'll make use of what I learn when I go to the outside world again…" he murmured.

"...what would you say that you _have_ learned?" Sonia inquired, as she quickly took a large swig from her mug; emptying it.

"…I learned that my skills are not to be taken lightly; that I need to use them for good reasons… otherwise, I come off as some jackass bullying everyone around," grumbled Lazlo, finishing his mug too.

Ani came around and refilled their mugs after that, looking in intrigue at Lazlo.

Sonia looked at Lazlo as well. "...you're not bitter, are you?" she hummed, letting out a small hiccup.

"What makes you say that?" Lazlo asked, looking down at his mug.

"I'm just curious..." Sonia hummed.

"…guess I didn't really make much of a difference here…" Lazlo murmured.

"...hey, chin up." Sonia said, as she nudged Lazlo's shoulder. "You don't need to look at it in a negative light."

"…well… at least I'll be getting off this rock at the end of the month…" Lazlo raised his mug to that and drank.

Sonia hummed, before she took another swig. "...phew... this is some good stuff..." she hummed when she set the mug down.

"…yeah, it is," Lazlo said, actually smiling just a bit.

"...you know..." Swaying a bit, Sonia snapped her fingers. "...keep on drinkin'; I got an idea."

"…what?" Lazlo asked curiously.

"You'll sh- HIC! Shee!" Sonia said, before she gave Ani a nod, while she downed what was in her mug.

Lazlo raised his eyebrow, but drank down his mug nonetheless. After he emptied his, he gave his fist hiccup.

Placing the mug on her counter, Sonia let out a sigh. "While you fill it up... tell me how many I've taken, Ani!" she slurred.

"Well, this one's your sixth," Ani said. "And this would be Lazlo's fourth," she filled the both of them up, and Lazlo looked at it, before he took a sip again.

"Guess I feel a bit better," Lazlo admitted.

"Trusht me; you're gonna feel a lotta better shoon!" Sonia said with a slight laugh, before she drank a bit from her mug.

"…getting drunk huh…?" Lazlo murmured. "…I guess I can do that." With that, he gulped down the whole mug in one swig, and Ani looked at him in shock. After he burped, he set the mug down. "…looksh like I'll hafta ketchup now…" he muttered.

Sonia shot him a glance, before she snickered. "Now whe're talkin'!" Instantly, she downed her mug, setting it down on the counter. "HIC! Alright... think yec'n catch up t'me?" she chuckled.

"I think so," Lazlo chuckled, while Ani refilled their mugs again in some amazement.

"...I gots the advantash; two over ya." Sonia chuckled. "You gotsa drink a lotta more t'beat me!" she added, before she actually downed her mug in one shot.

"…Ani…give me two more and I gulp 'em down…" Lazlo murmured.

"…uh…okay…" She filled up two more mugs and set them down in front of Lazlo, giving him three total.

In a few seconds, he gulped down all three of them, and let out a loud belch.

Sonia let out a loud laugh at that. "You'sh gettin' better!" she laughed. "More for me, too, Ani!"

Ani rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "If you say so…"

* * *

><p>Cowpoke thought he'd go out and enjoy the stars on this night, since there probably wouldn't be much opportunity to do anything like that later. He was going to save the next time he'd do this when it was a full moon…<p>

…and he'd sneak Jill along with him. Thankfully, the full moon seemed to be a few days away, so it was a night they could really spend together before the training year finally ended. Cowpoke really did love that woman, but once again, they knew that things wouldn't work…

At least they agreed to make the most of it.

Cowpoke eventually stopped in the opening of the forest and he was able to see the stars from there. Here in the island, he could see all of them shining with the utmost radiance. He smiled at their beauty, and wished even more that Jill was here right now.

…then he suddenly got shoved into the mud.

"Hey there Cowboy!" sneered a voice; "Thought you'd be out here!"

Cowpoke pushed the figure away and spat out mud. "What the hell, Raider?" Cowpoke then got yanked up by his collar and he got shoved against a tree, meeting eye to eye with the black ox.

"Let's make this simple," Raider told Cowpoke in his face. "…I'm here to get revenge for Hex, but I really don't care much for that. What I really want is what you know about Jillian Condit."

"…fuck off, Raider," Cowpoke tried to push Raider away but he slammed him back against the tree again.

"I will, once I find out what I want to know," Raider chuckled. "…after all… you seem to know about Callous pretty well."

Cowpoke stopped struggling and his eyes widened. "…how the hell did you find out about Callous?"

"I have my sources," Raider chuckled.

Cowpoke glared at him. "I said _fuck off _Raider! I'm not telling you anything about her-!" That got him a punch in the face, and he groaned a little bit from the pain.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for, Cowboy," Raider chuckled. "Better start telling me something, or not only will I beat you up, but I might just take you back to Hex so she _can _have her revenge."

Cowpoke's eyes widened. "…y-you wouldn't…"

Raider's smirk grew. "I _would…_ if that's what it takes to get you to start talking…"

Cowpoke's eyes sharpened. "…I'm still not telling you anything about her."

"Oh, is it really _that_ juicy?" Raider sneered. "So good that even Hex doesn't scare you enough to tell me?"

"…I love her…and I'm making sure that creeps like you never hurt her again," Cowpoke growled.

"_Again? _What, did someone hurt her before?" Raider wondered.

Cowpoke looked up to him with a very serious look. "…you ever heard of a man named Deity Novagod…?"

"No, why?" Raider became more curious.

"…good…because if you even knew him, then you'd be an emotional wreck like Jill is," Cowpoke muttered, shoving Raider off again, only to get shoved right back into the tree and punched.

"Okay, now I'm getting impatient with you," Raider growled. "Who the hell is this Novagod character?"

Cowpoke looked him dead in the eye… and for a moment, this look actually scared Raider…

"…he's your worst nightmare…"

Raider blinked a bit. "…is that so…?"

"…yeah…" Cowpoke shoved him away again, dusting himself off, and he actually walked away a few feet before Raider grabbed him and shoved him against the tree.

"What do you mean your worst nightmare, huh?" Raider asked. "Just how bad is he?"

"I told you too much already, Raider," Cowpoke growled. "Let me go!" That got him another punch.

"If you're not going to tell me, fine!" Raider growled. Then he smirked. "I'm still not afraid to take you to Hex…"

Cowpoke's eyes widened again.

"Tell me what you know…or I take you to Hex," Raider said. "And after what Jill put her through, you know that she's not going to be as forgiving as she was last time."

Cowpoke grit his teeth. "…you call last time _forgiving?"_

Before Raider could answer, however, someone suddenly grabbed Raider's arm in a _very_ strong grip; almost crushing it. Raider croaked at the pain, slowly turning around.

Standing there, holding an apple in his hand, was Spiel, who just looked at the apple with a bemused smile. "...say, Cowpoke..." he hummed, his grip on Raider tightening. "...you ever see what happens to an apple when you squeeze it... _really tight?_" As he said that, he twisted Raider's arm considerably, still smiling.

Raider screamed, and he let go of Cowpoke to fall to the ground, looking up at Spiel in shock.

Shooting Cowpoke a look, Spiel just chuckled, as he kept his iron grip in place. "...now what's this I'm hearing about Raider planning to take you to Hex, eh?" he mused.

Cowpoke settled down, while Raider cringed in the horrible pain. "…he threatened me because he wanted information about Jill," he said. "…and Hex is seeking out revenge on me…"

"...aah, is that right?" Spiel chuckled, as he shot Raider a look, "How very curious."

Raider tried to bite his tongue from screaming out.

Cowpoke just stood back up and dusted himself off again. "…thanks Spiel…" he murmured.

Spiel chuckled. "Don't mention it. Just go and get yourself patched up; and if anyone asks, tell 'em that you got in a fight. The guys on the island are fairly used to that." he mused. "You just leave Raider to me."

Cowpoke nodded, and started walking away. "Have a good night," he said.

When Cowpoke was gone, Raider slowly looked back at Spiel with wide eyes.

In turn, Spiel looked at Raider with a wicked grin. "...so... what's this about Hex and Jill, eh?" he hummed, before he suddely crushed the apple in his grip with a single movement. "Go on; indulge me, Raider."

Raider winced some more. "…I agreed to be Hex's grunt to carry out some revenge on him…and I figured I could get some information on Jill while I was at it…"

Spiel shook his head. "...when are you gonna figure it out, Raider?" he chuckled. "You shouldn't be working under someone weaker than you if you want something good from it." Then, he gripped down harder on Raider, "Seems to me like you need that lesson taught to ya."

Raider yelped again, and shut his eyes. "…I'm still surprised that somebody like you would say that…given that sickness you got…"

Spiel's smile actually fell at that...

...and he suddenly slammed Raider right against the ground; creating a small crater underneath him. "...you keep your trap about that shut. I'll turn you into mince-meat, otherwise." he outright snarled.

"O-o-o-okay! Alr-r-r-r-r-righ-ght!" Raider uttered out of fear and excruciating pain.

"...that's good." Spiel growled, as he eventually lifted Raider up. "...but I'm not letting ya off the hook that easily." Then, he began walking through the woods, pulling Raider with him.

"Ww-w-w-whoa, w-w-wait! Wh-wh-wh-where're ya takin' m-m-m-me?" Raider uttered.

"...what sounds less pleasant to ya?" Spiel huffed, as he shot Raider a glare. "...me ratting you out to King, or a night at Hex's place?"

Raider eyes widened and he grew silent.

"...well?" Spiel yelled, gripping Raider even tighter.

"….I-I'd…rather deal with…K-King…." He uttered.

"...I see." Spiel hummed with a nod. "...alright. Then we're _not_ going to King's." With that, he turned and walked in the direction of Hex's manor.

"H-H-HEY!" Raider uttered. "D-D-DON'T DO THAT!"

"And why not?" Spiel scoffed uncaringly.

"C-cause I c-can't afford to get tangled up with Hex like that!" Raider uttered.

"...so?" Spiel scoffed again, without stopping, "Doesn't affect _me_ in any way."

Raider fell silent…

…and then he deflated. "…awww…" he moaned in disdain.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ha-Ha. Raider's getting what he deserved!<strong>_


	11. Chapter 11

_"Joy just turned 1 years old yesterday. There was frosting all over her cheeks from trying to eat her tiny slice of cake, and I thought it was just adorable. Joy then giggled and clapped her hands, pleased with the smile on my face. If I didn't know any better, I would think that she was trying to make me smile... If that was the case, then she sure is a smart girl...just like her Daddy."_

_"Sometimes I think about how my own mother must have felt. I could only assume that once she died, she could do nothing else but watch me grow up from afar in another realm. Now that I'm a mother, being able to put this in perspective, I would've been heart-broken if I was taken away from Joy. Because of this, I feel more for my mother, and miss her."_

_"And...I suppose Brick might be experiencing the same thing. Reduced to only watching Joy grow up, from wherever he is now."_

_"I would cry about it, but little Joy won't let me. It's funny to think about it..."_

_"...but I think I'm finally starting to heal from what happened. Not that my father's comfort didn't help me when I was still pregnant with Joy, but like I wrote once before...I think I needed her."_

_"Only Joy seemed to have the power to heal my emotional wounds."_

Jill smiled a little bit when she set down the pencil, and looked over at Joy who was still snoozing away. Sonia didn't come back home last night, which is expected when she goes to the pub. Today, she was just fine by herself though…

She got up from the bed and she started cooking breakfast. At that point, the door opened up, and groaning was heard. Jill looked over at who came in with a sympathetic smile.

"...guh... never drinking again." Sonia groaned, as she stumbled into the cabin, holding a bag of ice against her head. "...g'mornin', Jill. How was your night?"

Jill just smiled, and she handed Sonia a cup of coffee, showing a thumbs-up as a reply to her question.

"...that's good to hear..." Sonia hummed, before she took a sip from the cup. When she moved the cup away from her lips, she shuddered. "...bitter."

Jill grabbed the creamer and set it down in front of Sonia, continuing on breakfast. "Thanks..." Sonia hummed, as she took the creamer and poured some on her coffee. "Joy's still asleep, right?" Jill nodded. "I see..." Sonia hummed. "...so, got any plans for today?"

Jill shrugged, and spooned some eggs onto a plate along with some bacon, sliding it over to Sonia.

"Thanks." Sonia said with a smile, as she began digging in. "...say... have you heard about the Music Square?"

Jill paused from the stovetop and looked over at Sonia with a tilted, curious look. She heard about Music Square, of course; given the fact that she's been on the island for nearly a year, but she wondered why Sonia would bring it up.

"Well, I figured that since you didn't have anything planned, maybe you could head over there today?" Sonia hummed. "You can take my violin with you."

Jill smiled, really liking that suggestion. She nodded, and finished scooping the last of the breakfast on two plates; one for her of course, and very little, cut-up portions for Joy when she woke up.

"Mama!"

Joy came toddling into the room, giggling, and she grabbed Sonia's leg to hug it. "Sonia!"

Sonia smiled when Joy hugged her leg. "...nice to see that she's cheerful." she mused.

Jill smiled, picking Joy up and setting her in her highchair and tying on her bib. Then she set the plate down in front of her and gave her a small spoon to eat with, while Jill picked up her own plate and started eating. Chuckling a bit, Sonia began eating from her plate.

Jill brought out her notepad and wrote to Sonia; _How was last night for you?_

"...eh, the same as any time I go to the pub." Sonia shrugged. "I get absolutely wasted, have no memory of anything after that, and wake up with someone in bed next to me."

Jill covered her mouth to hide her smile, and she would've giggled if she could.

"Hey, it's routine, at least." Sonia chuckled. "I'd be worried if that _didn't_ happen when I got wasted at the pub." Jill still smiled, and then she saw that there was already a mess on Joy's face, covered with eggs. She came over to wipe a little bit off and held the spoon full of egg to properly feed her.

_I think I will head to the Music Square and give it a try, _Jill wrote after handing the spoon back to Joy. _You want to come with me when I do?_

"...yeah, sure; It could be fun." Sonia mused with a chuckle.

Jill smiled at Sonia again, and took a bite of her eggs.

* * *

><p>Jill and Joy gathered themselves up, along with Sonia, and the three of them left their cozy cabin into the woods, and into town, straight for the town square that everyone called the Music Square. It circled around a large, decorative, beautiful fountain…<p>

…and there were quite a bit of musicians there right now, surrounded by crowds that danced to the music and beats that they played.

Jill marveled at such a place; there was a lot of harmony and beautiful sounds that everyone played, and she felt very at home right in this area. She remembered hearing it from a lot of the soldiers, and she's even passed by it herself every now and then…but she'd never really gone directly to it like today, and she secretly felt a bit excited.

"Well, nice to see the three of you here," They stopped when they encountered Ivory, Mia and Brute.

"Oh, you guys are here, too?" Sonia hummed.

"Yup." Mia hummed, folding her arms. "What brings you guys here?"

"Well, Jill hasn't been here before." Sonia said with a chuckle.

"Is that so?" Ivory murmured, folding her arms. Then she saw the violin case Jill was carrying. "…Condit, you never told me you were a musician," Ivory chuckled and Jill just shrugged.

"So, is she good?" Mia hummed.

"From what I've heard, yeah." Sonia chuckled.

"…well c'mon then; we'll clear a spot for you," Ivory urged with a nudge of her head, and the six of them weaved through the crowd.

Sonia smiled, as she nudged Jill a bit. "Get ready; this will get everyone's attention, I just know it."

Jill smiled a bit. Finally, they found an open spot, and Jill set down Joy and the violin case to open it up.

"Alright; give her some space..." Sonia said, as she motioned for Ivory, Mia and Brute to move a bit to the side.

Jill looked at the violin, smiling a bit.

"...so, what do we have here?" a female voice suddenly sneered.

Instantly, Sonia flinched. "...not here..." she uttered, before she glanced to the side; where they spotted Berta, her arms folded and a smug smirk on her.

"…is your presence really necessary, Berta?" grumbled Ivory.

"What? I spotted the rookie about to screw up, and I couldn't pass an opportunity like that up!" Berta chuckled.

"Oh, just leave, already." Sonia scoffed dryly. "I know that Jill could outplay everyone here at the square."

"Feh, really?" Berta scoffed back. "What a load. Why don't you show it, instead of having someone else tell me?"

The square became totally silent and they all looked toward the scene. Jill just ignored Berta for the most part, plucking the strings to make sure they were working and in tune.

"...stop dragging it out; just show everyone that you can't do it, and we can all go home!" Berta kept taunting.

Jill glared a little bit at Berta, but she still took her sweet time propping the violin onto her chin.

"...gettin' cold feet? Come on; get on with it!"

Jill shot one more glare at Berta…and then she struck the bow across the strings, beginning the song quickly and effortlessly. Everyone else totally became silent after that… and little Joy looked up at her mother in awe.

Even Berta seemed to lose her smug attitude when she heard the song.

"…you weren't kidding Sonia…" Ivory murmured, wide eyed.

"...told ya," Sonia mused with a snicker.

"...man... she's really into it..." Mia commented.

Jill continued to play without any care to the looks that everyone else was giving her…

…and her music started to carry out farther, and farther, across the town…

Farther away from Music Square, more and more Mobians started to hear the music…

"…hey Will, what's that?" Ed muttered, looking around.

"...sounds like violin music." Will commented.

"...someone's really gettin' into it." Marco mused.

"...you think we should check it out?" Will hummed, glancing back at Marco, Ed and Seymour.

"…sure, why not?" Seymour murmured, walking toward where the music was coming from…

"...hm?" Just as she lit her pipe, Hex glanced towards the open window. "...music...?"

Raider rolled over with a pained groan, but for the most part, he listened. "…yeah, sounds like music…"

Taking a drag from her pipe, Hex huffed. "...I suppose you could check it out." she mused, before she gave Raider a glare. "Just keep in mind; if you screw up again, I'll _expect you_ to come back to receive your punishment of your own volition. Got that?"

"…fine…" groaned Raider, standing up from the bed weakly.

"...off with you, now." Hex scoffed, as she took another drag from her pipe, blowing out a thin cloud of smoke.

"King, is that music?" Hunter asked him.

"...yeah... sounds like it." King mused, blinking a bit. "...weird... where is it coming from?"

"…the only place I can think of is Music Square," Hunter said, raising his eyebrow.

"...but that's far away from here; we shouldn't be able to hear it just like that." King noted. "This is curious... I think we oughta check it out."

Back at Music Square, Mobians started to clap and dance nearby while Jill continued to play, and more Mobians came from the town to gather around to see what was going on.

Ivory looked around in amazement. "…she's really getting some attention…"

"...I'll say." Mia commented.

Joy continued to watch her mother in awe, mesmerized by the melody her mother was playing. But probably the most astounded one was Berta, who just looked at Jill with an absolutely stunned look. The other Mobians with instruments even moved themselves closer to Jill to join in and make the music bigger. The crowd cheered and even more of them started dancing around and clapping.

"…is that Jill?" Stella walked up to Ivory and the others, gawking at Jill.

"Sure enough, it is," Ivory said. Then she looked over at Berta with a chuckle. "What was that about a rookie screwing up, Berta?"

"...n-never mind..." Berta sputtered, before she quickly hid in the crowd; just to try to keep away from that group.

Stella blinked, and then looked back at Jill. "…she's amazing…"

"...I know, right?" Sonia mused with a smile.

"…her mother taught her well…"

Hearing that, Sonia shot Stella a glance. "...say what, now?" she uttered.

Stella looked back at Sonia, and started walking away from her. Sonia blinked, before she began following Stella. "Hold up..." Sonia ended up following Stella totally out of the crowd and almost away from Music Square when she finally caught up.

"...hey... Stella, how did you...?" Sonia began once she caught up to her, rubbing her head.

"How did I know?" Stella presumed, closing her eyes. "…Sage showed me…"

"...oh." Sonia blinked, before she folded her arms. "...that explains it... still, you shouldn't say things like that in a huge crowd; who knows who might hear it?"

"You're right…" Stella said, nodding. "…sorry…"

"Don't worry about it." Sonia hummed. "Just don't speak before you think."

"Right…" Stella looked out… and then her eyes widened. "What happened to _him?"_

Sure enough, they saw Raider walking their way, with bruises, black eyes, and a twisted arm. He stopped at the edge of the forest, looking at the accumulating crowd of people in the square.

Shooting a glance at him, Sonia narrowed her eyes. "...judging from the state he's in... he must've run into Spiel." she guessed.

"…he must have…" Stella murmured.

"What's all that music?"

"Oh Cowpoke, that's just Jill—Oh my! You've got a black eye too!" When Stella turned to see the hounds coming, she saw that Cowpoke had a huge black eye.

"Nothin' much; just got in a fight…" Cowpoke said, staring out towards where the crowd was. "…that's Jill?"

"...yeah." Sonia nodded, looking from Jill to Cowpoke.

"...she's pretty good." Merde noted.

"Yeah; she must've been practicing a whole lot." Rott nodded.

"…damn…" Smokey remarked.

Finally, Jill finished her song with one last strike on the strings, and when she opened her eyes again, they widened at the large crowd that so suddenly appeared and started to cheer.

"...now that's a large crowd." Merde mused.

Jill just blinked at everyone, and then she saw Joy who was giggling madly and clapping her hands so happily. It made her smile…

* * *

><p>After a few more songs, the crowd eventually thinned out and all of the soldiers went to go do their own thing. Jill was able to relax and set the violin back down in it's case; hugging little Joy while she sat on her lap.<p>

"That was beautiful playing," Stella commented, when she, the hounds, Sonia, Ivory, Brute and Mia walked up to her.

"Yeah, it certainly shut Berta up," Ivory said. "You can say all the tough words you want, but that, I have to admit, is the very first time anyone's really shut her up. I give kudos to you, Condit."

Jill would giggle if she could, and she nodded in appreciation.

"Seriously; good playing." Mia mused.

"You could actually do that sort of thing professionally." Rott suggested. "You really got the talent for it, at least."

Now Jill even blushed a little bit at that remark. Cowpoke chuckled at that, "Well now we've gone and made her blush," and when Jill looked over to him, her eyes widened at the black eye he had. She set Joy down and went to touch it worriedly. "Oh this?" Cowpoke asked. "Don't worry; just got myself in a fight…"

"...a fight, huh?" Sonia hummed. "When did that happen?"

"Some time last night." Rott hummed. "He came home looking like that."

Stella was very quiet, but she looked from Cowpoke, all the way over to Raider, wondering if there was a connection. Both of them were beaten up; Raider WAAAAY more beaten up than Cowpoke. Did something happen with Spiel?

"Anyway, I heard that Meta finally made a decision on what he's going to do," Cowpoke mentioned, stealing both Jill's and Stella's attention.

"...oh, yeah?" Sonia hummed, tilting her head. "What'd he decide on?"

"He's going to go back to the ARK with Proxy and Omega," Cowpoke said.

Stella's eyes widened. "He's going back?"

Cowpoke nodded.

"…why?" Stella asked.

"…not really sure why," Cowpoke said. "If you really want to know why, I suppose you can go ask him yerself…" Stella immediately turned around and started running off. "…huh?"

"Stella, wait!" Ivory called, but that didn't stop the bird.

"...why is she in such a hurry?" Mia blinked.

"…don't know…" Ivory murmured, and then she saw Jill pick up Joy and run after her as well. "…hey!"

"...geez... think we should follow her?" Mia groaned.

Sonia hummed, before she looked at Cowpoke, to see what he'd think.

"…if Meta's going back, then maybe we should," Cowpoke said. "It might mean that they're leaving…"

Stella ran all the way back to where the capsule had crashed, and sure enough, there was Proxy, Omega and Meta standing there. "Wait, don't go!" she called, stopping right next to them.

Blinking, Proxy glanced at Stella. "...what's wrong?" he hummed.

"I…didn't want you to go until…I got to see you…" huffed Stella, trying to catch her breath. "I've been thinking about this for a while and…"

…_yes…go on, _insisted Meta.

"…I wanna come with you…"

Silence.

_**"...seriously?"**_ Omega uttered, looking at Stella in what could only be disbelief.

"Yes," Stella nodded, looking up at them with a smile.

…_why?_ Meta asked.

"…I don't want to be in Safe Haven anymore…and there's nowhere for me to go to in the outside world," Stella said.

"...that's... sudden..." Proxy hummed, rubbing his neck.

_**"...living on the ARK could prove to be dangerous for you." **_Omega pointed out.

"Oh, it can't be as bad as Hex, certainly…" Stella said cheerfully.

_No, he's right…_ Meta said. _…there aren't just some experiments that can break out… but you're dealing with very advanced technology that is liable to malfunction at any time…_

Stella just looked up at them, losing some of her cheerfulness…

_**"...if you go up there, you have work as best you can at all times." **_Omega noted. _**"Otherwise, you could end up severely injured, with only a few people able to heal you, in a potentially risky environment..."**_

Stella straightened up. "…I'd rather that… then being prone to experience Hex again…"

…_you are very much afraid of her…_ Meta observed.

"...many of the island's inhabitants are afraid of her..." Proxy mused, folding his arms. "...still... this is a heavy decision. If there's even the slightest hint of doubt..."

Stella nodded. "I have no doubt whatsoever… after all, I'm not leaving anything behind…"

…_no family…_ Meta murmured. _…I am sorry to know what happened to them…_

Stella looked down at the ground. "…don't be sorry…the only reason I joined Safe Haven was to get over what happened to them…."

_**"...what happened to them?"**_ Omega hummed.

"…car accident in Future City," Stella murmured.

"...I see..." Proxy hummed, closing his eyes. "...my condolences."

Stella nodded in appreciation.

…_even then, you still wish to come with us? _Meta asked, getting another nod from Stella.

"...hrm..." Proxy hummed. "...I don't know... I don't think she's completely finished down here, yet." Then, he glanced behind Stella. "...isn't that right, you guys?"

Stella's eyes widened, and she turned around to see the group that had been at Music Square standing right there.

"…I guess if she really wanted to go, she would have to ask King," Ivory said.

"...true enough." Mia noted.

Stella sighed. "...so…I'd have to ask him…"

"...seems like it." Proxy hummed, before he smiled. "...but... I suppose we can hold off our launch until you've gotten clearance from him."

"…then I'll go look for him," Stella said with a nod.

"No need." They all turned and Hunter and King walked up to them.

"...so... you want to leave?" King hummed, as he looked at Stella, his arms folded.

"Uh…y-yes sir," Stella responded hastily.

"...you're absolutely dead-set on going through with it?" King hummed again, narrowing his eyes.

Stella's expression grew serious and she nodded.

"...I see..." King hummed, drumming his fingers against his arm.

Stella grew a bit nervous, wondering what King's answer would be, while the others just stood silently.

"...well..." King hummed, before he shrugged. "...at least say bye to those you wanna say bye to, first."

Stella blinked, to process what he just said… and her eyes widened. "…you…really mean it?"

"As long as you do what I just said, yes." King nodded, as he now smiled.

Stella smiled, and looked at everyone here. "…everyone I would ever want to say good bye to is standing here right now…"

Jill set Joy down so that Joy could toddle over and hug Stella's knees. "Stella go bye bye?" Stella looked down at the girl in surprise for uttering an actual sentence like that.

So she knelt down to Joy. "…yeah Joy…Stella's going bye bye." The next thing the bird knew, Joy wrapped her tiny arms around her and hugged her.

Folding her arms, Mia glanced to the side. "...you take care now, Stella..." she murmured.

"…yeah…be careful there," Ivory said with a nod.

Jill smiled and went up to Stella, hugging her as well. "…thank you…" Stella murmured, mostly to Jill. "…I hope you all take care of yourselves as well…"

"...we will." Sonia nodded. "Don't you worry about that."

Jill let go of Stella, and she turned to Cowpoke, who just stood there looking at Stella.

"…well…I suppose you should take care of you and your son…Cowpoke," Stella muttered a bit timidly toward the bloodhound.

"…yeah…you too," Cowpoke replied.

"...just stay safe, you hear?" Rott hummed.

"...yeah." Merde nodded.

Stella nodded, and then she watched Jill go over to hug Proxy. Proxy returned the hug. "...take care, now." he said. "Who knows; maybe I'll visit you again some time." Jill smiled and nodded, appreciating the thought.

With that taken care of, Meta entered inside the capsule, and when Stella saw that, she quickly accompanied. Omega followed them into the capsule, though before Proxy entered as well, he turned to the group, giving them a smile, nod and a wave. "...later."

Everyone replied with a nod, and watched them climb into the capsule; Stella looking out one of the windows at them. Eventually, the capsule flared to life, as it slowly, but surely shot up into the sky; soon becoming nothing more than a dot far above them.

"Bye bye!" called Joy waving her hand, while Jill picked her back up.

"...there they go..." King hummed, folding his arms.

"…wonder what they'll be doin' up there in that ARK," Cowpoke wondered.

"...who knows..." Sonia hummed.

"…well…I suppose we should just go back to whatever we were doing…" Ivory murmured.

"...seems like it..." Mia mused.

With that, Ivory, Mia and Brute walked away from the scene. Jill, meanwhile, held Joy while the two of them continued to look up at the sky.

"...they'll be fine." Sonia hummed, patting Jill's shoulder. "Don't you worry."

_I'm sure they will, _Jill thought with a smile.

* * *

><p>That evening came where the full moon came out, and Cowpoke took that opportunity to sneak Jill out into the night. They sat down in an opening in the woods, hopefully a place where they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone or anything that might be wandering in the night. They sat together in content, just looking up at it.<p>

"…this is the last moment we'd ever really have to ourselves…" Cowpoke murmured, and Jill nodded. "…I'm gonna miss ya Jill…"

Jill hugged Cowpoke back, nestling her head on his shoulder to look back up at the moon.

"…did you used to do this thing with Brick?" Cowpoke asked curiously, and Jill nodded again. "…what was Brick like, anyway?" Cowpoke asked again. "You said that I reminded you a lot of him…"

Jill pulled out her notepad to write. _Brick was very bold, and strong-willed. He was also fairly smart, and he could figure things out pretty easily. I wouldn't expect anything else from someone that was the assistant to the Professor._

"…I guess I could imagine that," Cowpoke replied. "…you've really been through a lot Jill…I wish that things could've been a bit different… so you didn't have to lose so much…"

Jill's brows arched a bit. _I appreciate the thought,_ Jill wrote,_ but to be honest…I don't think I'd ever really want to change anything about it…_

Cowpoke's eyes widened when he read that. "…but…why?"

… _because of the difference I made…_ Jill wrote. _…we stopped a horrible monster from branching out into the world…and I would never give up meeting Metal or Brick or anyone for the sake of staying in that old village… it opened my eyes to everything around me that living in that village closed up to the rest of the villagers._

"…do you still think about him…?" Cowpoke asked, and when Jill grew bewildered, Cowpoke clarified; "…Metal I mean…"

Jill remained silent, (as if she really had any choice in the matter) and looked up to the moon.

…_every day, _she wrote. _…I'll never forget what sacrifice he took…_

"…do you think you'd be able to go back there and find him again?" Cowpoke asked, and Jill looked to the ground sadly.

…_that's something I'm still wondering…_ she wrote back.

Cowpoke looked down at her with concerned and brushed back her hair. "…well…let's not worry about that tonight…I'm sure that when you go further on in the future…you'll find out if you'll face him again or not…" Jill nodded, and Cowpoke noticed a few tears roll down her face. Cowpoke wiped them up, and turned her sad eyes up to him. "…I'm sure he's still hanging in there…don't worry," he assured her.

Though to be honest, Cowpoke had no real way of knowing that or not… finding all this out was still a bit much for him, even now.

So Cowpoke just stroked her furry cheek with a thumb, hugging her. What surprised him though, was that Jill moved her head up, and kissed him on the lips.

…_I know I'll see him someday…_ Jill thought, while they kissed under the moonlight. _…I'm determined to make sure that he won't have to suffer for the rest of his life…_ Cowpoke wrapped his arms around Jill, pulling her closer to kiss her even more. Soon, the two got so lost in the make out that they forgot about everything else…

* * *

><p>Finally, the day came… The ferry arrived to the docks, and all of the soldiers gathered there, creating a lot of noise and cheer for the soldiers that were embarking onto the ferry. They finally finished their year of training… and now, they were going back to the outside world to make something of themselves.<p>

That meant saying goodbye to new friends…

"…well, I know you didn't expect me to say anything of the sort," Ivory said. "…but I hope to be seeing you again in the future, Condit…"

Jill nodded, holding Joy with her away from the crowd a bit, so she wouldn't get shoved.

"So Ivory, what're you and your friends going to do?" Hunter asked.

"Well…when I first got here, I wanted to be able to open a business to earn money and learn how to utilize my fighting style to beat out the competition literally," Ivory said. "…but now that I've finished…I want to start a more honorable business…Don't know what, yet, but I know we can figure it out from there…"

"...I'll stay with her to help her out as best I can." Mia hummed with a slight nod. "Don't really have anything else to do."

Jill nodded again. She looked around and saw others like Trish and Berta shoving off for the ferry.

"...a few of the trainees don't seem to have anyone to say bye to..." Sonia hummed, rubbing her chin as she glanced at some of the soldiers.

"I assume they got what they came here for…" Ivory mumbled. "…well…I guess we'd better go board the ferry too." She set her hands on Jill's shoulders. "…you take good care of Joy, you hear?"

And Jill nodded again, watching her, Brute and Mia walk toward the ferry.

"So long!" Sonia called to them with a wave.

"...same to you." Mia called back, as she glanced back at them with a wave whilst following Ivory and Brute.

"…Most of them did great, huh King?" Hunter said, looking over at the ferry.

"They certainly did." King mused with a chuckle, as he folded his arms. "They'll be just fine out there."

"…Hey…"

Jill turned around, and she saw just Cowpoke and Mud-Pie standing there. All of his friends weren't there though…

"…where's all your buddies?" Hunter asked.

"Saying most of their own goodbyes," Cowpoke said with a tip of his hat.

"Ah, I see..." King hummed, nodding.

"...it's gonna be kinda quiet without everyone around." Sonia hummed, folding her arms.

"Yeah, I bet," Cowpoke chuckled. Then he looked at Jill with a bit of a sad smile. Jill gave the same kind of smile back, setting down Joy to hug him, and Joy simultaneously toddled over to hug Mud-Pie.

"...you all take care, now." King said with a nod to Cowpoke.

"You too," Cowpoke nodded to King, after hugging Jill. Then he looked at her. "…boy…I'll sher miss ya…" he muttered.

"Bye bye Mud-Pie!" Joy said with a giggle, and Mud-Pie laughed a little bit.

Sonia couldn't help but smile a bit, as she looked at Jill.

Jill smiled a little bit, putting a hand on his cheek.

"…I'll take care o' me and Mud-Pie…" Cowpoke said. "…so you take good, extra care of Joy, 'kay?" Jill nodded at that, and went over to kiss Cowpoke on the cheek.

"Aaaw..." Sonia hummed.

"…I guess I'd better find my buddies and get aboard that ferry…" Cowpoke muttered.

"...yeah..." King hummed, rubbing his neck. "...be safe, and all that."

"I'll miss you guys," Mud-Pie said with a wave, while Cowpoke took his hand and the two of them walked away. Jill watched them walk away… of course, feeling a bit of disdain…

…even if things wouldn't have worked, and she still might not have been ready for a committed relationship again… she would still really miss Cowpoke.

"...we're all gonna miss him." Sonia hummed, as she looked at Jill.

Jill nodded a bit, looking down at Joy who kept waving her little hand. "Bye bye!" she called out.

"All Aboard! Last call for any soldiers that are leaving now!" called the one who drove the ferry.

Sonia glanced around at a few of the soldiers who were finishing their farewells, before they hurried towards the ferry. Jill watched the rest board, and that was just when she saw Cowpoke and his friends heading toward the ferry with packs over their backs.

Watching them go toward the ferry brought some flashbacks to Jill about how she first met these boys; defending her and baby Joy when she first arrived, making sure that they were alright…

…Jill's feet picked up before she could control herself, and she ran toward the crowd around the docks, leaving Joy behind with Sonia, King and Hunter.

"Jill?" Sonia called when she saw this.

Jill kept running, and Hunter just put his hand on her shoulder. "…it's hard for her to say goodbye to someone she cares about…" Hunter murmured. "...and well that's true for just about everyone else, it's especially hard for her..."

"...right..." Sonia hummed.

Jill pushed her way through the crowd, and just when Cowpoke was the last one to get on, he turned around and noticed Jill running right for him. He was shocked, especially when she broke free from the crowd finally and threw her arms around him. The soldiers around them cheered for them, cooed, or didn't give a crap about them.

"…I…bet it's really hard for you…huh?" Cowpoke murmured, hugging her back. Jill nodded, and when Cowpoke looked at her, he saw a few tears roll down Jill's face. "…remember what you told me?" Cowpoke said, putting a finger under her chin. "…even if things didn't work, we shouldn't have to shut ourselves up to everyone else around us…at least now…we might be able to get over the things that happened to us…"

Jill nodded in understanding, trying to wipe the tears away.

"…God…I would give anything to hear your voice one last time…" Cowpoke muttered, hugging Jill again tightly.

Everyone who were watching them were dead silent at the moment.

"…if…you're ever really ready…well…" Cowpoke grew a bit bashful. "…at least…keep in touch…ya know?"

Jill nodded… and then she pulled Cowpoke into a kiss, making the soldiers around them cheer and whistle.

"…well well…" Hunter chuckled in amusement.

Joy was covering her eyes at this. "Icky icky!"

Sonia giggled at Joy's reaction to that.

King just chuckled as well. "...that's adorable."

Jill finally pulled away, looking at Cowpoke's red face with a small smile, clearing his throat a little bit. "…I'll see ya…" he murmured, pulling away and heading onto the ferry. Thankfully, he was the last one too, and when he climbed aboard, the ferry bridge pulled up and the ferryman started it up.

King looked at the ferry with a slight nod, before his gaze turned to Jill.

The soldiers screamed excitedly when the ferry actually started moving, while Jill rushed to the very edge of the docks where the ferry was leaving. Mud-Pie and Cowpoke pushed their way through those on the ferry, and started waving back to Jill while the ferry slowly took off…

…Jill waved back.

King smiled a bit at that, folding his arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Goodbyes sure are hard, huh? :(<strong>_


	12. Chapter 12

Soon, the soldiers that gathered all started leaving one by one, now that the celebration was all over…

Joy came up too, babbling about and hugging mommy's leg. "Mama!" Jill looked down at Joy, and picked her up, looking back out at the ocean.

"…whew…we now have _uno mes_ to relax…" sighed Flamenco at the side, leaning back in his chair.

"...a whole month..." Lin hummed, rubbing her head.

Jill looked curiously back at them. _A whole month?_

"...oh, I guess you don't know about this, Jill..." Sonia hummed, as she looked at the ewe. "Well... the guys who live here need their vacation too, right? There's a month-long break between when the past people leave the island, and the new recruits come back to the island."

Jill smiled a bit and nodded in understanding. That made sense to her.

"...well... guess it's time for us to start our break." King hummed, glancing up at the sky.

"…this'll be great," Hunter said with a big, happy sigh, "…if none of the soldiers here get into trouble…"

"...well, hopefully, it's not gonna be monstrously out of hand." King mused.

"…hey Sonia!" Hunter suddenly turned to the rattlesnake. "Now that everyone finally has some free time; maybe you can show Jill the island?"

"...ooh, yeah! I haven't done that, yet!" Sonia hummed, as she gave Jill a nod. "How about it? Wanna see the place?"

Jill smiled a bit and nodded, setting Joy down on her feet.

"...alright; let's go and check things out!" Sonia said with a wide smile.

* * *

><p>The two of them finally started exploring the place, and they finally came to places that brought out the nostalgia for Jill; well, or it would have for Professor Miles "Tails" Prower.<p>

The two of them traversed the Green Forest, and even the Metal Harbor that used to house GUNs air units.

"...pretty snazzy so far, eh, Jill?" Sonia hummed with a chuckle.

Jill nodded, still looking around in amazement. They went back to Green Forest and even started heading up toward the mountain, still a bit determined to see a lot of the island. Eventually, they stopped for a rest and Joy was sitting on the ground, playing with some of the dirt.

"...you enjoying the sights, so far?" Sonia hummed, as she looked at Jill with a slight smile.

Jill nodded again with a smile. Then she looked down at Joy sweetly, seeing the little child giggle a bit.

"...she's just too cute." Sonia remarked with a smile.

Jill nodded again in agreement, and eventually Joy pushed herself onto her feet, toddling about somewhere… and then stopping short, looking off in the distance. Jill found this strange, and she stood up to see what Joy was looking at…

…when she saw that there were two people standing there, she let out a gasp with a start.

"…well…enjoying the sights, are we…?"

Jill suddenly got a really bad feeling about the two standing there, and she stood in front of Joy protectively. She looked at the faces of two Mobians that were looking at them…

"…what's the matter?" One of them was an evil looking Diablo, taking a few steps toward them. Jill didn't like the look in his eyes… it was a familiar kind of look that she secretly feared, but she couldn't let her fear get the best of her…

…but that wasn't the worst of it… it was the little one standing next to Diablo that frightened Jill the most.

"...you look nervous." The little one was Kiri, who seemed even more menacing than Diablo; all while she trotted after him.

"...you guys..." Sonia uttered, quickly stepping in front of Jill and Joy. "...what're you doing here?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

"…we're just enjoying the sights… just like you…" Diablo chuckled.

…_what happened to them?_ Jill thought in slight fear, looking back at them and standing in front of Joy.

"...were you following us?" Sonia kept inquiring, growing serious.

"...what if we were?" Kiri giggled.

"…no…" Joy was the most afraid of them, and she hid behind Jill. "…no no no…" and bad memories ran through the toddler's head.

Looking back at Joy, Sonia hissed, before looking back at Diablo and Kiri. "...answer me." she said in a firm tone. "Did you follow us here?"

"…maybe we did, maybe we didn't…" Diablo chuckled.

Jill felt a headache coming onto her head, but she tried to shake it off. She gave the two of them a deadly glare as a warning to go away…

"…oh, what's with the sour looks?" Diablo asked, folding his arms.

Sonia narrowed her eyes further. "...you're scaring Joy." she said.

"...oh, she doesn't have to be scared." Kiri said with a giggle. "We just wanna play..."

"…I don wanna play…" Joy uttered, getting a surprised look from Jill.

"...you don't?" Kiri giggled. "...then... what about the others?"

"Alright, that's enough." Sonia said, taking a step forward. "You two leave them alone, or you'll be sorry. Got that?"

Jill's headache got even worse, but she tried to ignore it. She set her hand on her head though, wincing in pain.

_What the fuck are you doing letting them get closer like that? Do something!_

"...I mean it!" Sonia yelled, glaring at Diablo. "You two get outta here, right now!"

"...so loud..." Kiri hummed, before she looked at Diablo. "...what do we do with her, big brother?"

"Maybe we should teach them to be a little more…_quiet,_" Diablo chuckled deviously.

Jill's head pounded now.

_Oh, screw it…_

And that's when Jill forced herself forward in front of Sonia.

"Uh- Jill?" Sonia uttered in surprise.

Jill's eyes opened, showing an even more deadly glare… but with red eyes, directed back at the two of them.

Diablo's smile just a little bit. "…well now, what's this?"

"...how curious..." Kiri hummed.

"…what, you think that kind of trick would scare us?" Diablo said with a chuckle.

Jill just kept glaring at them, folding her arms.

"...Jill...?" Sonia uttered once more.

It turned into a staring contest for a little bit… until Jill finally stepped toward them, and calmly pointed away, implying that they should leave now.

"Oh, you want us to leave?" Diablo chuckled. "What if we don't, huh?"

Jill pounded her fist into her hand, answering Diablo's question.

"…just like all the other soldiers huh? You would just beat us up if we didn't leave?" Diablo smirked.

"...how assertive." Kiri hummed, before she giggled. "Now why would we listen to someone who hasn't as much experience as big brother, hm?"

"Hey, you implying something, there?" Sonia called at them with an annoyed tone.

Jill just grit her teeth…

…then a punch was landed on Diablo's face.

Both Sonia and Kiri seemed fairly stunned at that; not having expected such a direct and sudden approach. Diablo wasn't knocked over by the punch, but he stood there, just a bit stunned himself. He slowly looked at Jill, who still glared back at him, and he rubbed the spot that she punched.

Then he smirked. "…that hurt, I'll admit…"

"...it hurt?" Kiri hummed.

"…yes…but that's not a way to make me leave," Diablo said. Then his smirk grew. "You could just ask. Go ahead. Say "I want you to leave." It's not that hard…"

Jill grew more irritated.

"...bastard..." Sonia hissed, as she clenched her hand.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Diablo started, making Jill even madder. "It's easy. I'll even say it with you-!" And at that point, Jill knocked Diablo down and started punching him in the face like mad.

"Ah- Jill!" Sonia exclaimed.

"Big brother!" Kiri called at the exact same time.

Jill just kept punching him too until…

"MAMA! STOP!"

Jill halted one last punch to Diablo, and she looked over toward the toddler who was in tears. "That's a no no Mama! Stop!" Joy cried. "That's a no no!"

Sonia and Kiri both looked at Joy; Sonia with a look of concern, and Kiri with a look of apathy.

Jill just scoffed down at Diablo then, getting off and pulling him up to his feet, shoving him backward with a stumble in his step. Though his face was all bloody, he was smirking just a little bit, looking back at Jill.

"…I think…that works…" he muttered with a small chuckle. "…c'mon Kiri… let's go…"

Kiri looked at Diablo, before nodding. "...yes."

Sonia looked back at them with a frown.

Diablo took Kiri's hand and with that, they turned to leave. Jill's eyes flashed green, and when she heard Joy crying, she spun around and went to her… only for Joy to frightfully hide behind Sonia. Seeing her hide from Jill like that shocked her… even hurt her a little.

Looking from Jill to Joy, Sonia rubbed her neck awkwardly. "...geez..."

Jill couldn't bear to see Joy cry like that. She managed to snatch Joy up quickly away from behind Sonia and the toddler struggled… until Jill hugged her tightly and sat on the ground to rock her a little bit.

After a little of that, Joy stopped struggling and cried in her shoulder.

Sonia just stood there, looking at the two of them.

Joy even finally stopped crying, and Jill brushed her hair with her hand, while she stood back up and looked at Sonia.

Sonia just looked back at Jill, managing a slight smile.

Jill managed to bring out her notepad and write. _I think we should head back…_ she wrote.

"...yeah... let's," Sonia nodded, as she began walking, though she stopped to let Jill and Joy catch up to her.

They caught up with her, and the two of them walked down the mountain side.

* * *

><p><em>A few days later…<em>

* * *

><p>"Hey Guys…did you even know that Jill's birthday was coming up?" mentioned Ani one day, while cleaning the counters.<p>

"...really?" Miser blinked, as she looked at Ani. "That's news to me."

"…I didn't know that either, Ani," Hunter muttered, looking at her in surprise. "How did you know about it?"

"Oh c'mon dad," Ani moaned, rolling her eyes. "Me and the boys _always_ remembered Jill's birthday…"

"...well, I knew about it." Sage commented.

"Tell us something you don't know, Sage." Queen mused with a chuckle.

"...so, anyone got any plans for her birthday?" King inquired, as he looked at the others.

"Kekeke... nothing comes to mind right away..." Ripper noted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ani started chuckling to herself.

"…what's so funny?" Hunter asked.

"Oh nothing," Ani said. "…just remembering what the boys would do; they'd always try to surprise her somehow, but Jill always found out about it. They'd get so disappointed… but then they'd feel better when Jill enjoyed what they tried to surprise her with."

"...surprise... hm?" Sage hummed, drumming her fingers against her chin. "...maybe we could do something like that?"

"…what were you thinking of, Sage?" Hunter asked curiously.

"...well..." Sage hummed, as she drummed her fingers against each other. "...let's first think of a gift. What would Jill be in need of?"

Everyone silently tried to ponder on that.

"…things to take care of Joy?" mentioned Ani.

"Nah…" Hunter responded. "…I mean, that would all be for Joy; that wouldn't be gifts for Jill, would it?"

"True enough..." Ripper nodded. "...hrm..."

"...urm, well..." King hummed, scratching his cheek in thought. "...huh... um..."

Miser remained silent, as she tapped her chin in thought as well.

"…a home…"

Hunter's head rose up, looking at all of them. "…she needs a home…"

Miser looked back at Hunter, before nodding. "...that's right; she's been staying over at Sonia's for so long..."

"...actually..." Sage hummed, smiling. "...I think I have an idea, on what her new home could be."

"…you're thinking what I'm thinking, huh Sage?" Hunter asked.

"Oh, you know it." Sage chuckled.

"What?" Ani wondered. "What're you guys thinking?"

"Well, you guys know about that shop that got destroyed during Christmas, right?" Hunter said.

"Yeah; and it got totally rebuilt thanks to the soldiers," Ani said with a nod.

"...so... what you're getting at is..." Ripper began, looking at Sage and Hunter.

"...how about we go and make some preparations, there?" Sage suggested, as she stood up. "We wouldn't want it to be too empty before the big day comes along."

Ani grew a smile. "…that's the best birthday gift we could ever think of! We could even throw her a surprise party there!"

"Great idea!" King nodded, as he looked at everyone in the room. "Alright; we've got some preparations to get done before her birthday comes up! You guys ready?"

"Sure am!" Ani exclaimed.

* * *

><p>Jill today was rocking back and forth in that rocking chair, with Joy asleep in her arms as usual. Jill even felt like she could use a nap…<p>

"...you feeling tired, Jill?" Sonia inquired, glancing at Jill with a hum.

Jill smiled a bit and nodded, yawning a little bit.

"...I see..." Sonia hummed, nodding a little bit. "...then... maybe you should take a nap?"

Jill smiled even more, and she stood up to carry Joy with her into their room.

After they left, Sonia sat herself down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling with a hum. _...man... it's almost been a whole year since she came to the island._ she thought, rubbing her chin. _...a lot of things have happened... but I'm sure that she'll pull through, even with creeps like Diablo around..._

Then, she shuddered. _...speaking of... what was up with him before a few days back...?_

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"...hm?" Humming, Sonia glanced at the door. "Hold up!" she called, before she went over to open it.

Ani was standing there with a really big grin on her face. "Hiiiiiiiii Sonia…"

Sonia couldn't help but smile, as she folded her arms. "I know that kind of grin. What have you gotten planned _this_ time, Ani?" she chuckled.

Ani looked quickly back and forth, and then yanked Sonia forward to whisper excitedly in her ear.

Sonia blinked as she heard what Ani whispered. "...no way. Really?"

Ani nodded, still wearing that big grin.

"...no kidding?" Sonia mused, smiling as well. "I bet Jill and Joy would be very happy about that."

"Yeah," Ani said. "And it's going to be a big surprise!"

"I bet it will be!" Sonia said with a huge smile. "Everyone's busy making preparations, right?"

"Yep," Ani replied. "And you just gotta make sure that Jill doesn't suspect a thing!"

"Oh, that'll be easy." Sonia chuckled. "We've already walked past that place once before you began working on it, so she _definitely_ won't see any of you prepping the place up before the big day!"

"Okay, good," Ani giggled. "…Then we'll just wait until the day comes, and I'll let you know when to bring her over…"

"Alright; sounds like a plan." Sonia nodded.

"So…what's she up to now?" Ani asked curiously.

"Well, she felt tired, so she went and took a nap." Sonia noted.

"Okay, good, so she probably didn't hear me," Ani snickered. "Well, I'm off! I just wanted to let you know that!"

"Alright! Good luck with the preparations!" Sonia said to her.

"Thanks!" Ani called, running off.

Giving her a wave, Sonia closed the door, before she rubbed her hands. _...keeping Jill out of the loop... shouldn't be too hard._

* * *

><p>"…<em>It's today now…my own birthday."<em>

"_It reminds me of all the times that the boys tried to do all kinds of nice things for me… more so after I had lost my voice… who knows what they're going through right now, on this day… surely the boys would remember today and grow depressed…"_

"…_Professor, boys… I'm sorry for running away…and I'm still so ashamed of what happened that I can't bring myself to go visit you… just to let you know that I'm alright, and that Joy's alright…"_

"…_now I've gone and made myself depressed thinking about it…"_

"…_well…I've spent a lot more of my birthdays all alone… so I suppose anyone but Sage might regard today."_

Jill set down the pen for now, and looked over at Joy who was still asleep next to her side. At least seeing Joy asleep raised her spirits a little bit, making a smile appear on Jill's face.

Then, there was a knock on the door. "You awake, Jill?"

Jill stood up and went over to the door, opening it. On the other side stood Sonia, smiling; "How're you feeling today, Jill?"

Jill smiled and gave thumbs up. She was fairly decent…

Sonia smiled as well. "...say, when we've all gotten something to eat, how about you and Joy come with me for a walk?"

Jill nodded with more of a smile. That sounded like a pleasant idea…

"Alright." Sonia nodded, before she headed for the kitchen. "Just give me a heads-up when Joy wakes up, okay?"

Jill nodded.

Later in the day, the three of them finally went outside, and Jill smiled down at Joy who walked and babbling socially, looking up at Jill and Sonia. Sonia gave her a smile as well.

Jill pulled out her notepad and started writing. _Today seems like a really nice day, doesn't it?_

"Yeah; it's a really nice day today." Sonia nodded.

_I wonder what everyone else is doing today…_ Jill wrote.

"I'm sure they've got something in mind." Sonia hummed, shrugging a bit.

Jill shrugged as well. _It's nice to be able to relax_, she continued writing.

"Well, that's the good thing about breaks." Sonia noted with a smile.

Jill nodded.

…_there's something I've been thinking about, Sonia…_ she wrote.

Sonia hummed. "Hm?"

…_I'm thinking about my friends in Mystic Ruins… _she continued to write. _…King told me that there was still an investigation to look for me going on… right now, they're probably really worried…_

"...oh..." Sonia hummed, folding her arms and nodding.

…_I wonder what they're doing today..._ Jill wrote thoughtfully, and a bit sadly.

"...hm..." Sonia rubbed her neck a bit awkwardly, glancing to the side.

Jill finally stopped walking, and looked out to the sea in some depression. She wasn't going to lie about anything; she missed the Professor and the boys very much, and she wanted to see them just as much as she felt guilty about abandoning them.

Then she felt a tug at her hand and looked down at Joy. "Mama…" Joy muttered a bit quietly, looking up at her mother. Somehow, she could tell that her mother wasn't very happy…

Unsure of what to say regarding this, Sonia placed a hand on Jill's shoulder; giving her a sympathetic look.

Jill looked back at Sonia, and then down at her notepad. _…I'm going to have to visit them someday,_ she wrote._ …the boys and the Professor…_

"...you'll do that when you're ready." Sonia said with an encouraging nod. "Don't worry."

Jill heard running steps and she turned around to see Ani running up to them. She halted really quickly to catch her breath, and to Jill, she looked really frantic. "Jill, there's something you gotta see!" she uttered.

Seeing Ani like this alarmed Jill.

Noting this, Sonia hummed. "...sounds important." she mused, before she looked at Jill and Joy. "Come on; let's see what this is all about!"

Jill nodded, and whisked up Joy in her arms so that they could follow Ani as quickly as possible…

* * *

><p>Ani led them to a particular building in town, and the place was seemingly deserted. Jill remembered seeing this building once or twice, passing by it while they were reconstructing the building.<p>

Why Ani would bring her here, she wasn't sure.

"Y-You gotta go inside and see what's going on!" Ani seemed to be scared…and Jill had no idea why.

"...sounds urgent." Sonia noted, before she looked at Jill. "Jill, you go in first. We'll be right behind you."

Jill looked back at Sonia strangely. Why would Sonia want Jill to go first? If it was something bad, wouldn't she normally go in first just to make sure it was safe? It wasn't that Jill was scared; she just figured that Sonia would be more protective than that.

…but without any more questioning, Jill held Joy tight and threw open the door, entering the building.

It looked like some kind of malt shop… Jill looked around curiously, since she always wondered what exactly this building had been. She didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary here though…

"SURPRISE!"

Jill jumped with a gasp, seeing many figures suddenly jump out at her. Those figures happened to be King, Hunter, Sage, Ripper and Miser.

Jill was still totally confused, and then she heard Ani laugh behind her. "We sure got you didn't we? You think that I'd forget what today is, Jill?"

Jill slowly turned around in astonishment. Ani really remembered her birthday?

"Everyone chipped in to get your gift, Jill!" Sonia called to her as well.

Jill blinked and looked around.

"This is all yours, Jill," Hunter chuckled, getting a shocked look from Jill.

"...that's right." Queen nodded. "This entire building... is our gift to you."

Jill's jaw dropped a little bit, looking around some more while she set Joy down on her feet.

"Jill, you've gotta see the upstairs!" Ani exclaimed, running past everyone past the counter. She disappeared into a doorway there.

"...go on; give it a watch." Sonia urged, as she patted Jill's back a bit.

Jill looked at Sonia blankly, took Joy by the hand and followed where Ani went into the doorway. It turned out to be some stairs, and Jill climbed her way up them. Joy had a bit of trouble, since she was still really little. Sonia decided to follow them up the stairs as well.

When Jill made it up there, she stopped in more amazement. She looked around a very small, but cozy living room. Ani was sitting on the couch, smiling at her, and King, Queen, Hunter and Sage got up the stairs too.

"...so..." King began, rubbing his neck as he looked at Jill. "...you like it?"

Jill smiled and nodded at King.

King smiled back. "Glad to hear it."

"Mama! Mama!" Joy giggled, hopping onto the couch and setting her hands on the cushion for Jill to come sit next to her.

"...go on; take a seat." Sage said with a smile.

Jill went over and sat, looking around the living room while Joy climbed right into her la. She honestly couldn't believe it… this whole place was hers?

_...it is._ Sage instantly thought in her head. _All of it._

Jill was frozen for a little bit…

…then a happy smile broke out on her face, with a couple of happy tears. She never expected to get an entire home for her birthday… it was the best gift she could ever think of. _Thank you…_ she told Sage, wiping her eyes.

_...don't just thank me; the others helped out, too._ Sage chuckled, as she folded her arms.

…_then would you tell them?_ Jill asked.

_Sure._

With that, Sage gave the others a look. "She says thanks to all of us." she said with a smile.

"Well you're very welcome Jill," Ani said with a big grin.

"Now c'mon," Hunter said. "I'm sure Miser and Ripper might have that cake ready in the kitchen…"

"You bet, kekeke! It's a _big_ one!" Ripper called.

"...well, let's check it out!" Sonia said with a laugh.

"Yipee!" exclaimed Joy, jumping off her mother's lap.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's how Jill got a home.<strong>  
><em>


	13. Chapter 13

_One Month Later_

* * *

><p>Finally the day came again… new arrivals would come in from the ferry and the next year for training would begin…<p>

"...here we go again..." Miser hummed, as she looked towards the horizon with a pair of binoculars.

"...wonder what kinda people are gonna show up this year?" Lin mused to herself, rubbing her chin.

"Don't know," Hunter replied. "I just hope they won't be as tough as last year's…"

"Oh, I don't think they'll be as rough." Miser mused. "Whatever's on the ferry, we can handle."

"...so, anyone wanna bet on when a fight's gonna break out?" Lin said with a chuckle.

"We would need someone of the opposing party to bet with," Flamenco commented, "and we all believe that there will be a fight no matter what…"

"Hey look, here it comes!" Ani announced excitedly.

"Yeah; there it is!" Lin laughed.

Miser smiled, as she tried focusing on who was aboard the ferry.

It was hard to tell though; like they predicted, a fight had broken out on the ferry and there was a lot of cheering.

"...man; it didn't take long." Miser mused.

"Hey look, it's Sonia and Jill!" Ani called with a point back behind them. "And it looks like King's with them too!"

Glancing back, Miser saw the three of them heading towards them.

"They're in high spirits again, I see." King mused with a chuckle, folding his arms.

"Like _that's_ a new thing." Sonia giggled.

Joy giggled. "Look Mama! Look!" Jill nodded in response with a smile, seeing what she was pointing at. When they made it to the harbor, the ferry docked right in.

"...alright, let's see who's showing up for this year." King mused.

Some of the soldiers suddenly got thrown over the side of the ferry splashing into the water, and that's when they all finally noticed that the ferry stopped. "Hey, we're here!" one shouted, and they all rushed off the ferry onto the harbor.

Flamenco and Lin went to help the ones that had fallen in the water. Lin happened to pull up a moth with extremely long hair, though thanks to all the water, he was dripping everywhere and his hair hung all over him.

Seeing that, Sonia's eyes widened considerably. "...wha...?"

Blinking, King looked at Sonia. "...what's up?"

Once the moth was on dry land, he shook himself off at a rapid rate, showering Lin with splatters of water while his hair puffed out and dried instantly. "Oops, sorry," he muttered at the now soaked Lin.

Lin just laughed. "Don't worry about it."

The moth started walking up to where the rest of the soldiers were. One decided to try and trip him since his hair was in front of his face. It almost looked like he would too…

…except he stomped right on the foot with his own, and when the soldier roared in pain, he moved his foot. The moth walked on in peace, joining the group of soldiers.

"...not bad." one of the soldiers whispered when the moth entered the group; a female corgy wearing glasses, who seemed more like the intellectual type.

The moth though wasn't so graceful the next time, bumping into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, setting a hand on the shoulder of the one he bumped.

"Oh…d-don't worry about it…" The one he bumped was a female unicorn with long, sparkling white hair draped down almost to the ground. Her beauty attracted the attention of a lot of soldiers, but her mysterious purple eyes seemed to throw off most of them. The moth couldn't really see much of her anyway though, and he kept walking past her.

When he stopped, King finally cleared his throat. "Alright; I'm sure you all know, but you're the next generation of soldiers that will be training for the next year here on Safe Haven. When the year comes to a close, you can decide for yourself whether you'd like to keep living here, or head back to the mainland." Then, he folded his arms. "Before we begin the tour of the premises, are there any questions?"

One hand raised up. "Yeah. You guys have parties, right?"

"Oh shut up May! Heehee! You're so bad!"

It looked like a pair of attractive, female pink flamingo twins; both wearing the same outfit that only differentiated in two different colors, which were white and black. They both also giggled a lot, and that was enough for Flamenco to eye them with plenty interest. Noticing that, Lin pouted a bit.

"...well, there _is_ a pub on the island..." King noted, rubbing the back of his head. _...boy, those are gonna be a handful..._

"...does there happen to be a strict hold on rules on the island?" the corgy hummed, as she pushed her glasses up a bit. "Or is everything handled with a great sense of leniency?"

"Wha..." King seemed a bit bewildered by that. "...uh, well... naturally, we try keeping an eye on everyone to ensure that nothing ill happens, but we can't be everywhere, and..."

"...you seem a bit disorganized." the corgy commented again; letting out a sigh as she pushed her glasses up once more.

"Agh- n-never mind that." King quickly said. "I'm sure that you'll get better answers from Queen, Sage or Hunter, so if you need any answers, you know who to go to."

"There's lotsa peopoh here Mama!" called out Joy in astonishment.

The unicorn gasped and looked toward Jill and Joy. "I had no idea there were children here…"

"Yeah, what's the big idea with that?" uttered one of the flamingos.

"Indeed; one must question how things are run here if children are allowed on an island promoting training programs for grown-ups." the corgy mused dryly, pushing her glasses up once more.

At this point, King looked visibly befuddled, as he rubbed his neck and laughed a bit nervously.

"...oh, for pete's..." With a slight sigh, Sonia gently moved King to the side, before she looked at the crowd. "Listen; why a kid is on the island is none of your beeswax. Unless she feels like telling you why she's here, you got no business prodding her about it. You all got that?"

"Well…would she be able to tell us though?" asked the other flamingo curiously.

Hunter sighed. "She can't. She's a mute."

Silence.

"…oh," the other flamingo replied.

"…Sonia…?" the moth raised the hair on his bangs up, showing his eyes widened. "Sonia, is that you?" and all the soldier's eyes went toward him in question.

Again, Sonia's eyes widened... but she quickly composed herself, clearing her throat. "...no more questions."

"...hey, hang on!" King quickly said, looking at the rattlesnake. "That's-"

"Just begin the tour, King." Sonia murmured, before she pointed at the moth. "You. You stay right there. The rest of you, follow King."

King blinked at that, before he eventually shrugged. "...alright... follow me, then..." And he began walking off.

The rest of the soldiers went ahead; the flamingos skipping along merrily, and the unicorn staring on at Jill and Joy as she passed them by. Soon, the crowd was gone and the moth was the only one that remained.

"Wow Sonia! The years have been really good to you!" the moth uttered in amazement.

Sonia, however, was silent, as she began walking towards the moth.

"…wait…that _is_ you, right Sonia?" the moth uttered.

She stopped right in front of the moth, looking down at the ground. "...how many years has it been...?" she murmured.

The moth paused, thinking.

"…maybe… three or four years?" he muttered.

"...and in all that time..." Sonia murmured, still not looking at the moth. "...not one call, not a letter of any kind, not a single solitary word that could've told me where you were." Then, she shot a glare at the moth. "...why is that?"

The moth became nervous, "Ah…uh…"

"...do you have any idea how worried I was when I didn't hear a word from you for at least a year?" Sonia continued, jabbing a finger at the moth's chest. "I was hurt. I thought you had gotten into an accident, or something along those lines. Even if the only thing you had sent me in all this time was a notice that you had moved on to someone else, that would've been better than just hearing _nothing_ from you for nearly five years."

"...so... why the hell didn't you take contact with me, Autumn?"

"…because…I…I wasn't allowed to…" the moth, Autumn, uttered, looking away. "…it's all…um… confidential…"

Sonia's eyes narrowed, and she hissed. "...you know, a simple "we can't see each other again" would've been a _lot_ more assuring than a year of silence." Then, she grabbed the moth by his shoulders. "...what's this about confidentiality, huh? How did that stop you from just telling me that we were through?"

"…because I was helping with the investigation that searched for Metal Sonic after his disappearance," Autumn straight up told Sonia.

Jill gasped a little bit, looking back at him in shock.

Sonia's eyes widened a bit as well. "...say _what_, now?" she uttered.

Autumn was the one to glare at her now. "…when my family and I moved, it was hard," he said, "…but we moved to Westopolis…and do you even remember what Metal Sonic did to Westopolis all those years ago?"

Jill bit her lip. She knew very well what happened…

"...o-of course I remember..." Sonia uttered, letting go of Autumn.

"…some of his robots killed my mother and sister when they invaded Westopolis…"

Jill's eyes widened and she set down Joy in utter shock, taking a few steps away.

"…and ever since then…I devoted myself to finding that bastard…" Autumn growled. "…so I broke off contact mostly because everything was so confidential… but I did it to protect you… to Metal Sonic, anybody could've been a target…"

Sonia just looked at Autumn, before she glanced away. "...I... I'm sorry; I didn't know..."

Joy looked at Jill in wondering. "…Mama?" Then Jill just spun around and started running off. "MAMA!" Joy yelped out, stealing the attention of the others.

"…huh?" Autumn was entirely confused by this.

"…great…" Hunter looked at Miser. "Miser, go talk to her…" Miser gave Hunter a nod, before she hurried after Jill.

Sonia shot Jill a look to see her running off; having a concerned look on her face.

"…what's wrong with her…?" Autumn uttered. "…was… it something I said?"

Sonia rubbed her neck. "...she's... had some history with Metal Sonic." she said.

Autumn's eyes widened drastically, "…Oh! I'm really sorry! I had no idea!"

"Don't worry about it," Hunter grumbled. "…but I'd be careful when you're opening your fat mouth like that. I thought all that stuff was confidential, remember?"

Autumn became silent, but he gave Hunter a grudging glare.

Sonia sighed a little. "...just... hurry up and catch up with the group. Knowing King, the tour is bound to last a while..."

"…I'll… see you later Sonia…" Autumn said, hurrying off.

When he was gone, Hunter shook his head. "…something about him rubs me the wrong way…"

"Dad, what if Autumn starts asking Jill about her "experiences"?" Ani asked.

"We won't let him," Hunter bluntly replied.

"...hm." Sonia hummed, rubbing her arm as she glanced to the side.

* * *

><p>Autumn eventually found the large crowd of soldiers that King led around, and inserted himself into the group, finding himself standing next to the corgy.<p>

"...you certainly took a while." the corgy whispered, pushing her glasses up as she pretended to listen to King's tour. "What held you up?"

"…just catching up with someone I happened to know back then," Autumn whispered in response.

"You mean that rattlesnake lady?" one of the flamingos popped up behind him curiously; the one in white clothes.

"…yeah, her…" Autumn murmured, looking back at her. "…don't you know it's not polite to listen in on someone else?"

"I can't help it," the flamingo giggled. "Anytime someone gossips, these ears of mine pick it up instantly."

"...it wasn't gossip; it was a question about his whereabouts for the past 7 minutes." the corgy noted matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I know gossip when I hear it," the flamingo said with a sly grin. "If he knew her before, then that's the gossip part… speaking of which, I heard a bunch of really strange things about this island."

"Did you know that some people said that it's haunted by a ghost?"

"…oh?" Autumn grew curious.

"...haunted? Ghosts?" the corgy scoffed, as she shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. Such supernatural phenomena are nothing but fairy tales."

"And then there's this one rumor about a woman here; it says that there's a witch that lives inside her and if her eyes turn red, then it's the witch staring right into your soul," the flamingo chuckled.

"…sounds eerie," murmured Autumn.

"Sounds like hogwash." the corgy huffed, as she pushed her glasses up again.

"You'd better hush up about those rumors… you never know if that might get you in trouble."

Autumn spun around, looking at a very old looking wolf, but he was still very strong looking as well. He had lots of scars all over him, including one across his muscular chest, but that big grin on his face didn't make him look so intimidating.

Blinking, the corgy looked at this wolf. "...another eavesdropper..." she mused.

"Yeah, but at least I keep my mouth shut about it," chuckled the wolf.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" complained the flamingo.

"Excuse me!" And the entire group stopped. "Alright, whoever has a story to tell, come on out; as I guess it's _leagues_ more interesting than the tour!"

The corgy let out a sigh, as she pushed her glasses up again. "...busted by King..." she murmured under her breath.

"He said I had a big mouth!" yelped the flamingo, pointing at the wolf. "I do NOT!"

"I'm just saying that rumors are better left alone," the wolf said with a shrug. "It all depends on the ones who spread that rumor in the first place."

King let out a sigh, as he shook his head. "If you all feel like gossiping, at the very least wait until the tour's over. You'll have at least two hours before the night's main attraction starts."

"...main attraction?" the corgy hummed.

"You'll find out about that at the end of the tour." King added.

"Oooh! I LOVE surprises!" giggled the flamingo excitedly, and the wolf just chuckled at her in response.

The unicorn that was distant from them only looked away from them nervously. _…what kind of main attraction?_

"...well, let's continue the tour." King murmured, as he kept walking. "And over there..."

"…what's the matter my child?" whispered a voice to the unicorn. "You look nervous…"

The unicorn turned, and she looked into the eyes of an old, but wise looking raven, who gave her a very kind and sincere look of concern. She wore old looking ropes and held to a long staff for support, but she still looked pretty healthy.

"…it's nothing," the unicorn replied politely. "…I'm just getting used to a new place with lots of people."

"Is that so?" chuckled the raven sweetly.

"...well, don't be afraid to ask around; I'm sure there's someone who's gonna be able to help ya out." a male voice said in a friendly tone; the voice coming from a rough-looking piranha, who had happened to listen in to the conversation.

"…I'm…sure I can ask King or the others," the unicorn mused. "…right…"

"Just take it easy," the raven said, patting her back.

"And try smiling a bit; being positive should get you through the day." the piranha said with a small nod.

The unicorn smiled a bit like he suggested.

But within her mind, she was thinking. _…whatever this main event is, perhaps it's just the thing we need… no one will notice him flying through the night to get here…_

The tour went on without any problems or disturbances, until they all stopped in front of a large coliseum. "And this is the last part of the tour; the coliseum. Here's where your training will be put to the test; and if you need some extra training, you can stop by here if you so please."

"...so..." the piranha hummed. "...is this the end of the tour?"

"Yep." King nodded.

"...then perhaps you could reveal the surprise activity?" the corgy inquired, pushing her glasses up once more.

"Oh! Yes yes yes! Please!" exclaimed the flamingo.

"Calm down now…" chuckled the wolf.

"Well..." King hummed with a chuckle. "...the main attraction, just to let you all get acquainted with some of the veterans on the island, is a tournament that'll last all night long!"

"...a tournament?" the piranha hummed.

"...makes sense." the corgy noted.

"Yipee! It sounds like soo much fun!" cheered the flamingo, jumping up and down on her feet. "You hear that May?" then she stopped and looked around. "…May? Where are you?"

"A tournament? Really?" Autumn was genuinely surprised.

"Sounds like a blast," the wolf chuckled again.

"Right." King nodded, as he turned around... when he heard shuffling, pushing and yelling coming from the group. Out of curiosity, he looked back...

...to see someone push aside the crowd, whilst giving King an excited grin. "A _tournament?_ On the first day, and everything? You better count me in!" As it turned out, it was an older, yet very pumped female tiger, who simply wore a white tank top, short shorts and bandages around her hands, and had a few small scars visible on her body.

"…hello…" the wolf's eyes shot toward the tiger and he grew very interested, pushing his way through the crowd toward her.

Autumn was utterly confused. "…huh?"

King just blinked at the older tiger's enthusiasm. "...uh... well, it's great that you're so eager, but I bet you can wait patiently until-"

"Patiently?" the tiger laughed. "Boy, you're talking to the wrong wildcat about patience! Now that I know that there's gonna be a tournament, I can't sit still for long!"

"Yeah, you can't expect us old-timers to wait very long. That's all we ever spend our time doing," the wolf chuckled, reaching the front of the crowd.

King chuckled a bit as well. "Well, it's only about an hour between the tour and the tournament, so I guess you can spend that time making some new aquaintances."

"...well, alright." the tiger hummed, folding her arms with a huge grin. "But these veterans better be up to snuff, or I'll be sorely disappointed!"

"I sure like your spirit," laughed the wolf, looking at the female tiger.

She just laughed, looking back at the wolf. "You got an eye for those kinds of things?" she asked.

"Sure do," chuckled the wolf.

"Wonder if you got a thing for other things..." the tiger chuckled in return.

King shuddered a bit. He didn't know why, but... this somehow irked him the wrong way.

"Depends on what comes with the package," the wolf continued with a smug grin.

"Oh get a room you two…" groaned another soldier, rolling their eyes.

"No, just let them continue; they'll leave eventually." the corgy replied to that soldier.

King just let out a sigh. _This is definitely gonna be a handful..._ he thought, before he began walking off. "Alright; you go and befriend the others, and then you meet up here again in an hour."

Everyone nodded, and scattered.

Autumn looked around, and he noticed the unicorn wandering off by herself somewhere. He lifted his bangs and saw that the sun was starting to set in the sky. Had it really got that late in the day? Then he looked toward where the unicorn wandered off, thinking …_this place isn't really be safe to be alone in…_

"Hey!" At that point, someone patted Autumn on the shoulder. "How're ya doing?" It was the piranha, who seemed to be in a very good mood. "What's your name?"

"I'm Autumn," he replied immediately with a friendly smile of his own. "How 'bout you?"

"My name's Guts!" the piranha replied with a wide grin; incidentally showing off his sharp teeth. "Nice meeting ya, Autumn!"

"Nice meeting you too Guts," Autumn said, and then he noticed Sonia, Hunter holding Joy, and Ani coming toward all of the soldiers. "…excuse me, would you?" he said, parting from Guts to walk toward them…

…only to get stopped by the flamingo with white clothes. "Have you seen my sister, May?" she asked.

"Oh…uh, I don't think I have," Autumn murmured. "…I'm Autumn by the way."

"Oh Autumn huh? I'm Fae!" introduced the flamingo happily.

* * *

><p>"…man, this place sure is a dump," May, the other flamingo sister had wandered off by herself, having grown bored from the tour. Now she was just wandering around in the forest, around some GUN base ruins. "Prison Island isn't all that cracked up to be, huh?"<p>

"...why, you sound disappointed." a female voice hummed, as someone began approaching May.

"…hm?" May turned to the one approaching her. "Who're you?"

"...call me Hex." the figure chuckled, as the figure turned out to be an octopus who approached the flamingo.

"Hex huh? I'm May," the flamingo introduced herself.

"May? What a name." Hex chuckled, as she extended a tentacle out to the flamingo to shake. "Pleased to meet you."

May took the tentacle and shook it. "Guess you're a veteran, huh? I haven't seen you with the other newcomers…"

"I tend to keep to myself." Hex chuckled. "I live in a manor further into the woods. Care to come visit?"

"A manor huh?" May rubbed her chin in muse. "You must have some fancy parties there, huh?"

"...why, yes." Hex said with a smile. "I have some _wild_ parties there from time to time."

May smirked. "…I like the sound of that… how about you lead the way, huh?"

"Of course. Follow me, dear." Hex chuckled, as she held onto May's hand, before walking into the forest... all whilst thinking one very humorous thought to herself.

_This girl is _quite_ the sucker._

They wandered through the forest for a long time, until they finally made it to where they could see the manor in the distance. "Wow, you weren't kidding," chuckled May.

Hex chuckled, as she approached the manor, opening the doors. "I usually have some servants around, but with this being day one for the new generation, they won't be back before some hours have passed." she said. "I'll give you a tour, if you'd like."

"Sure," May replied, looking around the large foyer.

Entering the manor, Hex led May through the halls. "Throughout the first floor, there's the standard you'd expect to find; kitchens, bathrooms, et cetera. It's mainly for my servants to keep themselves occupied."

"Right," May replied, growing a bit impatient. "but where do you have the parties you were talking about?"

"It varies." Hex chuckled. "Either it's down in the basement, or up on the second floor; where the bedrooms are."

"Oh?" May replied with some interest.

Hex chuckled. "Which would you like to see first?"

"…how about the bedrooms?" May suggested. "I'm sure they look just as fancy as this whole place."

"Certainly." Hex nodded, as she led May to some stairs leading upwards. _Man, and here I thought getting some new slaves would be tough! This airhead's a perfect first addition to my new collection!_

May only kept looking around, marveling at how fancy everything was. She had no idea there could've been a place like this on a broken down island.

When they got up to the second floor, Hex looked down the hall of doors. "And here are the bedrooms. Most of them are standard fare, which is why my servants sleep in them. The place where the parties take place in, however... is in _my_ bedroom."

Just as she said that, she opened a door leading into her own personal quarters.

May looked at it silently… then…

"…Ooooooh…. I see where this is going…" May murmured, looking at Hex. "…so you have _those_ kind of _wild _parties…"

Hex chuckled. "What? Does it sound too _wild_ for you?" she mused, prodding May's forehead with a smirk.

May just looked at her…

…and suddenly, she broke out into a smirk.

"…you naughty little girl, you…"

Hex hummed. "...excuse me?" she said, tilting her head. "First of all, you're the little girl here, and second... _why_ haven't you burst into any uncomfortable or awkward state yet?"

"…because I do this kind of thing too…" May chuckled. "…I'll admit, the tentacles would be a first but…"

Hex's eyes widened slightly. "...you mean... you..." And she gasped in delight, clasping her hands together. "That's... _amazing!_ I never thought that I'd find a kindred soul on this island!"

"But I would think that being on an island the guys would be swarming around you," May replied, setting her hands on her hips. "What was with the whole 'aren't you uncomfortable' thing?"

Hex hummed, as she folded her arms. "...not everyone seems to be enjoying themselves as much as I do." she sighed. "It's earned me a bit of a reputation... not that I _mind_; I just take what I want without giving a damn."

"It seems that a lot of people have reputations…" May murmured. "…my sis loves gossip more than anything, so thanks to her work I learned a bit… but this island is still a rundown piece of crap in my opinion."

Hex shrugged. "It's practically lawless, so it's not like anyone can call the authorities to stop someone from having fun. I guess that's the appeal of the place for some."

"…ooooh, is that right…?"

May chuckled with a sneer. "…sounds like my kind of place then…if you can bend the rules as much as you want…"

"Just don't do anything that'll catch the attention of the stronger people, unless you got someone even stronger as your underling," Hex mused, smirking. "What do you think I have servants for?"

"Makes sense…" May replied. "…but I'm getting bored. How about you show me just how these _wild parties_ of yours start?"

"Well..." Chuckling, Hex suddenly snared May with her tentacles, smirking. "...if you insist."

"…nice grip," May commented with raised eyebrows, smirking.

"...that's not all I've got." Hex replied, tracing a few fingers along May's neck. "What I'm curious about is what you're capable of..."

"Is that so?" May chuckled. "Well…maybe I'll show you, maybe I won't…"

Hex chuckled back at her. "A tease, as well? I'm liking you more and more, May..." As she said that, she slid into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p><strong><em>...I'm scared now... o.0<em>**


	14. Chapter 14

The unicorn looked up at the sky again, and saw how dark it was. _…that tournament probably started by now,_ she thought. _…it seems like the best time to send out the signal…_

From within her coat, she pulled out a flare gun, and looked at it. _…now I just have to get far away from the stadium and shoot this so that he can see it…_ and with that, she started running quickly. _…I can't shoot this near the harbor; those guards there will see it. I'll have to go to a part of the shore where there isn't anyone around…_

It took her some time, but she was able to get to a particular shore where there was no one around. "…alright Charon…I hope you'll be able to see this…" she murmured to herself, aiming the flare gun up to shoot the blinding flare into the sky. Fortunately, it was just too far away for the entire island to even notice it…

…but unfortunately, one certain soldier on the island DID notice it…

"...now what was _that_ for?" a male voice hummed behind her.

The unicorn let out a loud gasp and she was so startled that she dropped the flare gun onto the ground, spinning around.

Right there stood a large pig towering over her; looking at her with a bemused look. "You seem like you're lost." he noted. "Aren't you gonna fight over at the tournament?"

"N-n-n-no, I-I'm not m-much of a fighter, r-r-really!" she stuttered fearfully.

"...huh. Usually, people come to Safe Haven _because_ they wanna improve their lackluster fighting skills." the pig noted, as he began approaching the unicorn. "So, what was with the flare gun? You trying to send in some secret agents, or something?" he chuckled; having meant that as a joke.

The unicorn looked away nervously. "…n-no…no secret agents…"

"Oh? Then what is it?" the pig chuckled.

And at that point, everything went black around them; as if a massive shadow stopped directly over them.

The unicorn froze and slowly looked up. "…uh oh…" she muttered under her breath. Looking up, the pig blinked as well.

Soon, the massive shadow landed right in front of the unicorn; glaring at the pig. "...who is this...?" he snarled.

The pig just looked at this being with a smirk. "...well, what do you know... here I thought I'd have seen everything."

What the being was happened to be a massive, black dragon, who stood protectively in front of the unicorn whilst giving the pig the mother of all death-glares.

The unicorn wasn't sure at all what to do. She only looked fearfully at the pig. "I-I-I d-don't know w-who he is…"

"...it doesn't matter. He's seen too much." the dragon snarled. "We'll have to-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there; let's not do anything too rash." Spiel chuckled, as he shot the unicorn a look. "How about we introduce ourselves, and find out what's going on around here? You can call me Spiel."

"…l-look…w-we can't risk anyone knowing about this…" the unicorn uttered, shuffling nervously. After all, the pig was too tall and looked too strong looking for her to be able to do what she needed to do.

"...oh, I see." Spiel hummed, as he looked at the dragon. "You're keeping the big guy a secret."

The dragon narrowed his eyes, and growled.

"...well... I'd say us meeting is a stroke of luck." Spiel chuckled, before he looked back at the unicorn. "You don't want anyone to find this guy? I think I can help you with that."

"…huh…?" the unicorn was genuinely surprised at that.

"I can help you find some shelter and food for the guy." Spiel continued, as he cracked his neck a bit. "Everyone else is at the coliseum, so if we move, no one will spot the big guy."

"...why are you so helpful?" the dragon uttered in a skeptical tone.

"What, can't a pig be a good sport about some things?" Spiel replied with a smirk. "...so, your names were...?"

The unicorn looked up at the dragon a bit worriedly and then back at Spiel. _…I suppose there's always later…_

"…I'm Oblivion…" the unicorn introduced a bit quietly.

Spiel gave her a nod, before he looked up at the dragon. "...and you?"

The dragon narrowed his eyes, before he let out a growl. "...Charon..." he murmured.

"Oblivion and Charon, eh?" Spiel hummed, as he chuckled. "Seems fitting." Then, he motioned towards the woods. "I know of a cave a ways from here. I'm sure no one will come snooping around there."

"…but seriously…" Oblivion looked at Spiel wonderingly. "…why would you help us?"

"...hm." Spiel hummed, glancing up at the sky. "...somehow, I just got this feeling that we'll all benefit from me helping you out."

Charon blinked. "...hn?"

"...well, let's get going." Spiel eventually said, as he began walking into the woods. "Follow me closely."

Charon looked down at Oblivion, waiting to see what she would decide on.

Oblivion looked back up at Charon worriedly… but she eventually took his hand. "…c'mon," she muttered, pulling Charon along with her to follow Spiel.

Though he seemed doubtful, Charon followed without any objections.

* * *

><p>The tournament was just as wild as it usually was, with the roaring crowd, and Miser walking out onto the arena to announce the first couple of opponents.<p>

"Alright; are all of you ready?" Miser called, with the crowd roaring in approval. "Glad to hear it! Now, everyone, give it up for the night's first fighters! In one corner, the newcomer Autumn, and in the other, the veteran Sonia!"

As the crowd cheered loudly, the rattlesnake entered the arena; rubbing her neck as she prepared herself for a battle.

On the other side, the moth was walking out, and he looked pretty relaxed.

"Alright, everyone: Let's Battle!" Miser called, and as she hurried off the stage, the crowd cheered once more.

Letting out a brief sigh, Sonia tapped her foot against the ground, as she simply looked at her opponent.

"I'm sure you'll win since you have experience, but I'll do my best," Autumn said with a nod.

"Wouldn't expect any less." Sonia hummed, before she ran at Autumn with a kick.

Suddenly, Autumn ducked right underneath it effortlessly. "…but I should probably warn you how much I learned over the years…"

Sonia hummed. "...not necessary." she retorted, before aiming her already-extended leg directly down, to strike Autumn over the head with her leg. Autumn blew himself away from Sonia quickly with the help of his wings, and decided to keep his distance from her.

Narrowing her eyes, Sonia cracked her neck a bit, before she tried shortening the distance between her and Autumn; quickly thinking on how she would be able to do so. Autumn quickly spun around Sonia in a swoop of air, and once he was behind her, he tried to kick her. With a slight hiss, Sonia spun around to repel the kick with a kick of her own.

Autumn lifted his bangs and blinked. "What's wrong? You look mad…"

"...I'm just annoyed." Sonia replied. "When you're fighting someone who can evade you that easily, it tends to get annoying." With that, she aimed an additional kick at Autumn to try and bring him down to the ground.

"OOF!" That hit him this time, and hard enough to knock him right onto the ground. "…o-ow…I didn't realize you were t-that strong…" he uttered weakly, unable to get up after that.

"...well, I've been training as well." Sonia noted, folding her arms. "Probably should have warned you about that."

The crowd cheered since Sonia won that battle, and Autumn still tried to get back up but he couldn't.

With a hum, Sonia grabbed Autumn's arm and pulled him up. "Up you go."

"Th-thanks," Autumn uttered, limping off the arena.

With a simple hum, Sonia walked out of the arena.

"Alright; for our next battle, we have another newcomer facing off against another veteran! The veteran for this round is Marco!"

With some mixed cheers and boos, a ferret entered the arena, cracking his knuckles and waiting for his opponent.

On the other side, the raven wearing robes and carrying a staff walked onto the arena, surprising those in the audience.

"And in that corner, we have Belinda; one of our new recruits on Safe Haven! Ready or not, let's battle!"

Marco just huffed upon seeing the raven. "You sure you should hang around here, granny? You might end up breaking something." he said with a scoff.

"Oh, what a thoughtful gentleman you are," chuckled the raven, Belinda. "But don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. Just give it your all."

"...hm." Shrugging, Marco ran at Belinda with a punch. Belinda easily stepped aside and stuck out her staff, tripping Marco instead. Those in the audience chuckled.

As he got up from the ground, he rubbed his head in annoyance. "...tsch..." With that, he aimed to kick Belinda.

And Belinda effortlessly blocked the kick with her staff. "Come now; surely you have more than that?" she chuckled.

"Son of a..." Marco grunted, before he thought of something... and reached to grab the staff; intending to wrestle it out of Belinda's grip.

"Taking an old woman's staff? Now now…" Belinda tsked. "…that's not very nice."

And she easily threw Marco right onto the ground, via the grip of the staff.

That knocked the air out of Marco, as he tried getting up on his feet again. "...damn it..."

"Would you like some help, young man?" Belinda asked, actually concerned for him.

"Ugh... don't worry about it." Marco coughed, as he eventually pushed himself on his feet, cracking his neck. "...alright... I'm ready." Believing that Belinda was off her guard, he aimed a sweeping kick at her to knock her down.

Belinda hit the tip of the staff on the ground to push herself up into the air so the kick missed her, and she spun around with a drop kick of her own on top of Marco, all in one reflex.

"WHA-" And that was all it took for Belinda to slam Marco into the ground; and this time, he didn't get up, earning Belinda the victory.

"…sorry young man…" Belinda murmured, helping him back up. "…force of habit…"

"...buh..." Grunting, Marco walked out of the arena.

While Belinda walked off, next to come onto the arena was the muscular wolf, pounding his fists together eagerly. "Alright, let's go!" he chuckled.

And his opponent happened to be King, who cracked his knuckles as well. "Bring it." he chuckled.

"Alright, our next contestants are the leader of Safe Haven, King, and the newcomer Bruno! Let's battle!"

Bruno, the wolf, made a motioning to King. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty…"

King let out a chuckle, as his body sparked a bit. "Careful, old-timer; you might get burnt with that attitude." he said, before running to kick the wolf.

Bruno jumped away, raising his fists and danced around. "Thanks for the concern. You're certainly a lot more polite than the other soldier's I've had the pleasure of meeting."

King chuckled. "Comes with being the leader." he noted, before he ran at Bruno once more; throwing a punch this time.

Bruno batted away the fist with his arm and aimed an uppercut at King.

King swayed his head away from the uppercut, before he aimed a headbutt right at Bruno.

Bruno took the headbutt with his own head. "…you got a thick head," he chuckled, rubbing his own head.

"I know." King said with a laugh, before he proceeded to aim _another_ headbutt against Bruno.

Bruno stopped him with hand this time. "Careful; you don't want to give yourself a concussion," he mused, throwing a kick toward King's gut.

Just as the kick connected, King grabbed the leg, stopping Bruno in his tracks. "Don't worry; my thick skull's not cracking any time soon!" he chuckled, before aiming a punch at Bruno's gut with his free hand.

The punch hit, and then Bruno grabbed King's wrist. "Let's hope so; I'd hate for a guy with so much personality to let his brains slip out of his broken head!"

King just grinned. "Don't you worry about that, old-timer!" he laughed, before he aimed a kick at Bruno.

Bruno grabbed his foot to stop the kick and threw him down onto the ground. King, however, took the opportunity to trip Bruno and send him tumbling to the ground as well.

"OOF!" Bruno fell hard, and yet he still chuckled. "I don't think I had a challenge like this in a long time!"

"Same here!" King laughed as well. "You're a tough guy, Bruno!"

"Thanks; you too King!" Bruno replied.

Chuckling, King sat up. "So, you wanna keep going, or do we call for a truce?"

"Let's call a truce for now," Bruno replied, sitting up also. "I'm sure that if we go all out, the battle would never really end, and there are others waiting to brawl of course."

"Just what I was thinking." King chuckled, before he began walking off. "Alright, people; it's a draw! Time for the next battle!"

Some people cheered, while others whined, but nevertheless, the next battle would go on after King and Bruno walked off. Bruno and Hunter happened to pass by each other, and they stared at each other while they walked. Hunter couldn't help but feel very strange looking at Bruno…

…like there was something familiar about him…

…anyhow, the two parted and Hunter was the next one to walk out onto the arena.

The one who walked out opposite of Hunter was that older tiger, who cracked her neck with a wide grin on her.

"Alright, people; now we have Hunter against the newcomer, Caitlin! Let's battle!"

"Caitlin huh? Alright then," Hunter said, getting in a stance. "Good luck."

"Same to you, doggy." Caitlin chuckled, as she got in a stance as well. "Now come on and come at me!"

Hunter ran with a punch at her.

However, Caitlin spun around to avoid the punch, whilst aiming a powerful kick right at Hunter. Hunter was knocked back a little ways, holding his gut. "Ow…you're strong," he muttered.

"You better believe it!" Caitlin laughed. "I've been training a hell of a whole lot..." As she said that, she stomped her foot into the ground; actually creating a small crater underneath it. "...so you better watch your back!" With that, she leapt towards him and aimed a fierce punch at him.

Hunter ducked away nervously. "You remind me way too much of King," he uttered, trying to throw another punch at her.

However, Caitlin caught the punch. "No kidding?" she hummed, before she aimed a headbutt against Hunter.

That hit so hard that it actually knocked him off his feet. "Yeah, you do," he grunted painfully. "…and now that I think about it… you look a lot like him too…" Hunter didn't think he could get up though, so that named Caitlin the victor of that battle.

"...that so...?" Humming, Caitlin rubbed her chin. "...well... I'll think more about that later. Take care now, kiddo!" With that laugh, she headed out of the arena.

Hunter shook his head and slowly got himself up, looking at where she left.

First Bruno looked a bit familiar to him… and Caitlin reminded him of King…

…how strange was that?

Anyhow, he rubbed his head where she headbutt him and walked off the arena.

"Alright, let's meet out next contestants! First out is a veteran, Jillian!"

Jill walked out onto the arena, looking around at the audience that cheered wildly.

"And here's her challenger; the newcomer Morrigan!"

After that was said, Jill's opponent walked out onto the arena; pushing up her glasses when she stopped. "...Jillian, is it?" It was the corgy from earlier, who gave Jill a quick nod. "Best of luck to you."

Jill nodded, and she rushed toward Morrigan to attack. Morrigan, however, simply stepped to the side to avoid the attack; pushing her glasses up whilst observing Jill's movements. Jill looked at Morrigan wonderingly, and then she threw a kick at her. Morrigan leaped back to avoid the kick, as she hummed. She didn't seem to fight back, for some reason. Jill found that very strange, but she jumped into the air to throw down a drop kick.

Still, Morrigan simply dodged, looking at Jill. "...one more..." she hummed.

Jill blinked in wondering, but she ran at Morrigan and threw her fist at her again.

This time, however, Morrigan stepped away from the punch, rushed behind Jill while she still recovered, and aimed a swipe against the back of her neck.

Jill stumbled from that attack, rubbing the back of her neck sorely. That actually hurt.

Again, Morrigan stepped back a bit, adjusting her glasses. "...doesn't seem too durable, yet has considerable force behind her attacks..." she mused.

Jill just gave Morrigan a strange look.

"...if I don't act carefully, she'll pulverize me..." Morrigan mused, before humming. "...well... I suppose I could test it out. It would help gauge the level of the others around here..."

At that point, she removed her glasses, and looked straight into Jill's eyes.

Jill didn't know why, but when she looked back at those eyes, she froze.

Without looking away from Jill, Morrigan approached the ewe, and when she was close enough, she set her hand on Jill's shoulder. "...sink." she uttered, as she applied a bit of pressure on the shoulder.

Slowly, Jill started to kneel to the ground, and she had no control over herself.

_Well… this won't do at all… no siree…_

Then all of a sudden… Jill stopped entirely, and grabbed Morrigan's hand.

Morrigan's eyes widened. "Resisting?" she uttered, before she tried yanking her hand out of Jill's grip.

But Jill's grip had become very powerful…

…and Morrigan found herself staring at Jill's eyes again, to notice them change from green to red, and a very evil looking smirk crossed her face.

Morrigan let out a brief gasp; her thoughts racing back to earlier that day. _...that rumor... no, it can't be!_ Gritting her teeth, she made a desperate move, and tried kicking Jill away from her.

Jill only grabbed the leg Morrigan was going to kick Jill with, and she picked up Morrigan, throwing her right back down on the ground with a harsh force.

Coughing, Morrigan clutched her chest, as she quickly tried getting some distance from Jill.

Jill only kept smirking that evil grin, and she rushed at Morrigan at an unbelievable speed, somehow getting behind her to kick her heel into Morrigan's back.

Letting out a cry, Morrigan quickly spun around before she could be brought to the ground. "Her power and speed has increased exponentially, along with her reaction time..." she uttered quickly, as she tried taking deeper breaths. "...I need to play it safe..." As she kept backing away, she shot another stare right at Jill's eyes.

Jill scoffed, and grabbed Morrigan by the throat, holding her up in the air. The audience gasped at that.

Gritting her teeth, Morrigan shot that stare right at Jill. "...stop..." she uttered.

Jill only smirked again, and threw Morrigan back down onto the ground.

This time, Morrigan didn't get back up in time; in turn making Jill the victor. "...alright, that would be enough..." she murmured, as she sat up whilst rubbing her throat.

But Jill didn't walk away…

…instead, she kept walking toward Morrigan menacingly.

Seeing that, Morrigan naturally began panicking. "...w-wait; the match is over!" she sputtered, quickly backing away from Jill. "You can leave, now!"

Some of those in the audience stood up in worry, gasping, and Jill still continued toward Morrigan, holding up her hand over her head.

With a light yelp, Morrigan attempted to run away from Jill; out of the arena.

Jill grabbed Morrigan quickly before she could get out, and raised her hand to prepare another strike…

…and then suddenly, Jill was hit away from Morrigan. A figure stood between them, pointing her staff at Jill. "You've made your victory already," Belinda told her darkly. "Leave it as it is…"

Breathing in slight panic, Morrigan looked up at Belinda. "...you..." she uttered.

Jill only scowled and folded her arms. _She only reminds me of Sage for some reason…_ she thought…

…then her red eyes changed back to green, and a look of shock and horror, backing away. Belinda noticed her change of behavior, and set down the tip of her staff on the ground.

Seeing this, Morrigan got on her feet, rubbing her head a bit as she looked at Jill.

Finally, Jill just turned and ran off the arena.

"…Morrigan, you would do your best to be wary of her," Belinda warned, looking back at her. "She seems to be a strange and yet, very unstable case…"

"...it..." Morrigan uttered, as she put on her glasses again. "...isn't the first time I've seen something like this..." With that, she walked out of the arena.

Belinda only looked back at Morrigan, and then she rose up some of her robes, revealing some wings on her arms. "Perhaps I should pursue her and inquire what caused her to act so violent," she muttered to herself, flying away from the arena.

* * *

><p>Jill had run all the way back to her new home; the malt shop that was in town. Once she was inside their doors, she stopped to catch her breath, cursing at herself in her mind.<p>

_Callous! Why did you do that?_

_I couldn't let you get hypnotized, could I? You've got a reputation to uphold here, just so you can protect little Joy…_

_You took it too far!_

_I have to make sure that no one will mess with you._

_Since when did you even care about me? You've spent most of your existence just trying to make me miserable! I'm trying to pick myself up from this mess and I don't need your help!_

_Oh, is that really any way to thank your sister?_

_YOU'RE NOT MY SISTER!_

Jill pounded her fist against a nearby wall out of frustration.

…_fine… but next time you're in trouble, don't count on me to help…_

Jill went back to catching her breath again, brushing her bangs away from her face to rub her eyes. She was tired…

…so she passed the counter to the stairs and headed up to her apartment…

When she came up, she saw Sage sitting on the couch, whilst giving her a nod. "...you're back, I see." she hummed.

Jill nodded with a small smile. She saw Joy sitting on the floor with some toys, but when she noticed her mom was home she stood up and toddled over happily. "Mama!" she giggled. Jill hugged her warmly.

Smiling, Sage stood up from the couch. "Would you like me to brew something for you before I leave?" she inquired.

Jill smiled at Sage. _…that sounds nice…thank you…_

Sage gave Jill a nod, as she turned to the kitchen... when she stopped. "...hey... Jill, you didn't invite anyone over. But someone's coming up the stairs right now..."

Jill blinked in wondering. Then she looked toward the stairs…

…sure enough, someone came out of them, and it turned out to be Belinda.

Looking back at her, Sage's eyes widened considerably.

Belinda turned her tired eyes first to Jill, and then to Joy.

"…you really are a strange case…" Belinda murmured, shaking her head. "…forgive me for entering your home uninvited… but you ran out so suddenly from the tournament, after you let yourself become so violent…tell me…"

Belinda looked up at Jill then, very solemnly. "…what causes a mother like you to act so possessed like that?"

Jill grew nervous… _very _nervous.

Narrowing her eyes, Sage glanced at Jill. _...do you want to answer her, or...?_ she inquired.

…_I-I'm not sure, _Jill replied. _I-I don't even know her!_

Belinda then looked over at Sage… and her solemn look drained away, as well as some of the color to her face. Sage just looked back at her; a less than neutral look on her as she observed the older raven. She _knew_ who that was.

Slowly, Belinda stepped toward her, and stopped in front of her, setting a hand to brush some of the feathers that were on Sage's forehead. She only looked straight into her eyes. Sage just looked right back into Belinda's eyes as well.

"…eyes…eyes as orange as a sunrise…" Belinda murmured.

Jill had become very bewildered by all of this, watching Belinda put a hand to Sage's cheek.

"…Sunrise…" Belinda murmured in realization. "…that's…that's your name, isn't it?"

Sage didn't say anything at first, though she did nod. "...yes... that is my name."

"…then…you are the one I have been searching for…"

Jill grew very surprised when she saw Belinda hug Sage, but even more surprised at what she said.

"…my daughter…"

Sage eventually hugged her back. "...mother..." she uttered.

Jill's eyes widened in pure shock.

"…oh Sunrise…you've grown so much…" Belinda looked at Sage's eyes again. "…the last I saw you…you were only four years old…"

"...a very long time has passed since then..." Sage mused.

"…all these years… I've felt so guilty…" Belinda looked like she was about to cry, but she held it back stubbornly. "…I only turn my back on you and when I looked again you were gone…"

Sage grit her teeth a bit, but she held back from crying as well.

"…I've spent nearly all my life looking for you…" Belinda uttered shakily. "…your father only told me that you were gone and that I had to move on, but I believed that you were still out there… it cost me our marriage… but I'm sure that he would be overjoyed to know that you were still alive…"

"…Oh Sunrise…" Belinda threw her arms around Sage again, just about ready to fall apart.

Again, Sage returned the hug, patting her mother's back.

"…I'm so sorry…" and finally, Belinda fell apart, sobbing in Sage's shoulder.

Jill saw a good time to pick up Joy and take her to bed, leaving the two alone for now.

"...mother..." Sage uttered, feeling a few tears trickle out from her eyes. "...it's alright, now... I'm here..."

"…where were you for so many years?" Belinda uttered, still sobbing. "…who took you? Did they do anything to you?" She held Sage tightly; not wanting to let go ever again.

"...it... is a long story, mother." Sage uttered, closing her eyes. "...it would take a long while to recount everything that has occurred these past years..."

"…yes…you would be right…" Belinda uttered, wiping her eyes. Still, Sage just held onto her mother; unsure on what to say or do at this point.

Since it had become quiet, Jill came back out from tucking in Joy just to peek; making sure that she wouldn't be interrupting anything.

"…I never would have thought you would be here, in a warrior nation…" Belinda murmured.

"...actually, I'm a friend of the nation's founder." Sage said. "I'm sure you saw him at the tournament."

"…right…the tiger leading the tour," Belinda assumed, wiping her eyes some more.

Jill tip-toed in then, and Belinda looked at her. Then Jill stopped nervously.

"…you…know each other, right?" Belinda inquired.

Jill slowly nodded.

"…I see…" Belinda replied. "…and I remember the tiger saying that you were a mute, correct?"

Jill slowly nodded again, looking away a bit sadly.

"...that's a different, but just as long story." Sage noted.

"…I see…" Belinda murmured.

"...hm..." Humming, Sage thought of something. "...how about I walk you home, mother? I'm sure Jill would like to rest for the night."

"…very well," Belinda agreed, nodding.

Nodding as well, Sage looked back at Jill. "...I'll see you tomorrow, then." she said with a nod.

Jill nodded, and watched the two of them leave down the stairs.

…_Sage's mother? Wow… I did NOT see THAT one coming…_

…_neither did I…_

With that, Jill turned to walk to her room and yawned.

* * *

><p>Ani yawned early the next morning, opening up the doors of the pub to start sweeping out the dust that she collected from within. The new recruits from this year sure knew how to party, and it took forever for them all to leave last night…<p>

"...so, this is the pub he talked about earlier..."

At that point, Ani would see someone approaching the pub; the female tiger, Caitlin, who rubbed her neck with a slight yawn.

At first, Ani thought it was King, but a closer look told her otherwise. "Oh, hi there," she greeted.

"Hiya, kiddo." Caitlin called with a wave and a grin. "You're open for business at this time of day, right?"

"Some eggs and bacon would be fine." Caitlin chuckled. "Oh, and some coffee."

"Okay then," Ani said. "Just go ahead and find a seat and I'll have it ready for you…"

"Mighty kind of you." Caitlin chuckled, as she took a seat.

Ani was about to go inside as well, but then she noticed someone else approaching the pub. "Huh…guess I'll have a bit of company this morning," she mused to herself…

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to be open, would you?" It was the wolf, Bruno, and he had a big grin on his face.

"Yeah, I'm open," Ani said. "Go ahead and come on in; make yourself comfortable."

"Why thanks," chuckled Bruno.

As she had taken her seat, Caitlin glanced back at Bruno with a small smile. "Well, look who's on his feet." she mused.

"Hey, it's you!" Bruno's grin only grew, and he waltzed over to her table to take a seat next to her. "Well now, we've got to stop avoiding each other around here. I only barely caught you at the tournament and then you disappeared!"

Ani chuckled a little bit, and she went behind the counter to start fixing some breakfast for them.

"Well, I didn't see you there, so I figured you'd have gone to get some sleep." she shrugged, still smiling. "So, how are you doing today?"

"Good," Bruno replied. "Say, I didn't happen to catch your name either; even if that announcer probably shouted your name to the whole world! I'm Bruno!"

"Bruno, eh?" she chuckled, before extending her hand to the wolf. "I'm Caitlin!"

Bruno took her hand. "Nice to meet'cha," but instead of shaking it, he leaned over and kissed her hand.

"My, my." Caitlin remarked, chuckling a bit. "Do we have a bit of a gentleman in the vicinity?"

"Only when I need to be," Bruno replied. "And you my dear, certainly deserve a gentlemen's greeting."

Caitlin chuckled again. "Oh, you're quite the charmer."

"…um….your breakfast…"

Bruno pulled back, seeing Ani standing there a bit awkwardly with Caitlin's plate and coffee in her hands.

"...oh!" Chuckling, Caitling took the plate and coffee. "Thanks, kiddo." she said with a friendly smile.

"…right…" Ani chuckled a bit nervously and looked at Bruno. "You want anything?"

"Hm…" Bruno thought about whether or not he was hungry. "…how 'bout something with lots of meat?" he finally laughed.

"…sure," Ani replied, going off to do that…

…then the door opened again and when she glanced, she saw Autumn walk into the pub.

"Well, if it isn't Autumn!" Bruno exclaimed. "Why don't you come over here and join us, son?"

"…huh?" Autumn looked up in surprise. "…um…sure I guess…" and he walked over to take a seat at their table.

"So, how're you feeling?" Caitlin hummed. "Did you sleep well, Autumn?"

"…no, I actually had a nightmare…" Autumn murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh?" Bruno wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "What nightmare, huh? Having second thoughts about joining Safe Haven?" and then Bruno laughed.

"…no…" Autumn murmured quietly, pushing off Bruno's arm.

"Then what was it about?" Caitlin hummed.

Autumn looked away from them. "…you saw… that one woman, right? Last night?"

"Which woman?" Bruno asked curiously.

"…the one who's mute, and who's got a kid…that woman…"

Ani's ears perked up, and she glanced back at them while she continued to cook, listening to them.

"...oh, her?" Caitlin hummed, tilting her head. "What about her?"

"…you guys…saw it too…right?"

"Saw what?" Bruno asked. "You need to be more specific here…"

Autumn looked up at him. "…didn't you see her eyes turn red?"

"...no, I don't think I did..." Caitlin mused, rubbing her head. "I didn't pay that much attention to the other fights..."

"You think it's just you, seeing things?" Bruno mused, patting Autumn on the back. "Maybe those rumors you heard are getting to ya?"

Once again, Autumn pushed him away. "I know what I saw…" Autumn muttered. "…I saw that raven step in before she could do some serious harm…"

…_did Sage stop the fight or something?_ Ani wondered.

"...you don't have to worry, kiddo." Caitlin mused, grinning a bit. "You weren't the one fighting the ewe, remember?"

"…right…" Autumn murmured. "…but I think there's something about her that we all don't know about…"

CLUNK!

That startled Autumn wide awake, though it was only just Ani "setting" down the plate in front of Bruno. "There you go!" she said loudly. "Something with a lot of meat!"

"Alright!" Bruno almost drooled at the sight of the bacon and ham and eggs on his plate.

"Alright; let's eat!" Caitlin chuckled, as she instantly began digging into her bacon and eggs.

While Bruno started eating as well, Autumn looked up at Ani. She had a smile on her face, but it twitched a bit nervously. "How 'bout you Autumn? Would you like something to eat?" she sounded nervous too, and Autumn could tell that she even tried to hide it.

"…uh…no…I'm good," Autumn replied in bewilderment.

"Okay," with a nervous chuckle, Ani turned and walked away.

…_that was weird…_ Autumn thought.

"...man, this is some really good food!" Caitlin commented, right after taking a sip from her cup of coffee.

"I'll say!" agreed Bruno.

Autumn just gave them a dry glare. _They're not even paying attention to anything, are they…?_

Once again, the door opened again, and when Ani looked over, she smiled. "Oh, hi Sage!"

"Hiya, Ani." Sage said with a smile to her, as she entered the pub.

"…oh! Who's your friend?" Ani noticed that _another_ raven was with her.

"Oh, just a little old lady is all," chuckled Belinda.

"Well, what do you know; someone's made a friend, already." Caitlin noted with a smile; even with her entire mouth stuffed with bacon.

"...don't forget to swallow." Sage said with a chuckle. Immediately after she said that, Caitlin chuckled sheepishly as she gulped down what she had in her mouth.

"You guys want anything for breakfast?" Ani asked.

"I could use something to eat; thank you child," Belinda said with a smile.

"Just give me something to drink, and I'll be fine for now, thank you." Sage said with a smile of her own.

Belinda looked over. "…I see we have some other friends here. Hello Bruno and Caitlin."

"Hi!" Bruno said with a smirk.

"'sup!" Caitlin called with a wave.

Sage glanced over at them, and blinked a bit. _...wait... don't tell me that they're..._

"What's all the commotion about?" There was a groaning yawn, and the butler doors opened to Hunter walking in tiredly.

"Oh, good morning, Hunter." Sage said with a nod to him.

And right on cue, the doors opened behind Sage and Belinda, as King strode into the pub. "G'morning, Ani. Just whip up something quick, if it's okay..." he murmured with a yawn.

"Sure," Ani replied.

Hunter looked over at Sage and jumped. "AGH!" Then he took a second look. "…oh, for a minute I thought there were two Sage's."

"Dad, don't be ridiculous," Ani chuckled, rolling her eyes.

Sage cleared her throat a bit, rubbing the back of her neck.

"That's not all," Autumn suddenly pointed out, looking at all of them. "You and your dad and Bruno all look alike, and so do Caitlin and King…"

"…now that you mention it," Ani muttered, looking around at all of them.

"...yeah... there's..." Caitlin hummed, rubbing her chin.

"...kind of a resemblance..." King nodded, rubbing his own chin.

Sage couldn't help but sigh a bit, shaking her head. _They're not noticing this yet…_

"…Should I speak out?" Belinda asked Sage in amusement.

"...if you wish." Sage shrugged.

"Well, I do believe that I have a reason for looking a lot like your friend here," Belinda spoke out, stealing everyone's attention. Then she put a hand on Sage's shoulder.

"It's because she's my daughter."

Silence…

"..._WHAAAAAAAT?_" both King and Caitlin yelled out loud, looking at the two of them in shock.

"...I take it that you're surprised." Sage quipped, chuckling a bit.

"But you shouldn't even HAVE any parents!" Hunter yelled.

"Oh, why not?" Bruno asked curiously.

Hunter fell silent at first, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. "I know I don't have any, because I saw my parents die…"

Bruno fell silent as well.

King glanced back at Hunter, blinking. "...hrm..."

"…yeah?" Bruno answered, standing up. "Well guess what? I thought I saw my only son die…"

Hunter shot a look of surprise at him. Bruno folded his arms.

"...huh?" Caitlin blinked. "...now hold up; those two stories do not mix together..."

"...so... how does this work out?" King uttered.

"…my parents died in a fire," Hunter replied, glaring at Bruno.

Bruno's eyes widened. "…my wife and kid died in a fire!"

The two stared at each other a bit longer.

"…no…" Hunter muttered. "…no, it can't be…"

"...seems like it..." Sage noted, as she looked at both Bruno and Hunter. "...it's a bit jumbled, but... the memories seem to match."

"…but…but I…" Hunter couldn't believe it.

Before he knew it… a memory suddenly rushed back to him.

"_Dad!" a little wolf pup screamed, looking back at the house that was burning in the night. Quickly, he ran in, avoiding the fire as best as he could to try and find his father and his mother. At first, he wasn't very successful…_

…_then the floor underneath him gave out._

"_DAD!" he screamed in panic, hanging on the burning edge of the second floor._

"_Hold on son! I'm coming!"_

"_Dad, hurry!" His tiny grip was slipping quickly, but he tried to hold on as best as he could. When he slipped, he screamed again… but thankfully something else grabbed his hand just in time. He looked up to some relief. "Dad!"_

"_C'mon Son! We need to get out of here!"_

The longer Hunter stared at Bruno, the more he started to recognize the old wolf; mostly, his face in the orange glow of the flames.

"_DAD!" somehow, the little wolf slipped out of his father's grip too, and started falling down, while bits of the roof above them started to cave in._

"_MIDNIGHT!"_

Hunter blinked.

Bruno kept staring at Hunter, and eventually spoke out. "…Midnight…"

Everyone was silent; just looking at Hunter and Bruno. Bruno walked up to Hunter and set his hands on his shoulders. "…I thought the burning debris crushed you…" Bruno uttered shakily.

"…I thought _you_ were the one that was crushed!" Hunter uttered. "…I found a way out through the basement, but when I saw the whole thing crashing down, I thought you were still in there…"

Bruno's grip on Hunter's shoulders tightened. "What? So you just assumed your old man would go that easily? You didn't even bother to check?"

Hunter's eyes watered up. "I thought you were dead! I ran away from there because I didn't know what else to do! I was only six years old!"

_...who'd have thought..._ King thought, as he just folded his arms.

Bruno snared Hunter in a hug. "Losing your mother was hard enough, but you…I blamed myself all these years for not holding onto you tightly enough!"

"…she was snatched away behind my back," Belinda threw in, looking at Sage. "…so don't blame yourself anymore… we all never would've known…"

Sage nodded; folding her arms as she glanced down at the floor.

"…then…that means…" Ani went out of the counter up to Bruno and Hunter… then she gave them a big hug. "I have a grandpa!" she exclaimed.

That actually brought a smile to Bruno, and he chuckled, throwing an arm around her. Everyone couldn't help but smile at that.

"…a granddaughter too… who would've thought?" Bruno chuckled, sniffing a bit since he was almost about to cry.

"...you know, I think this calls for a celebration, Ani!" King said, as he folded his arms.

"A celebration?" questioned Autumn.

"Well, of course!" King nodded. "There's been some reunions around here, so a celebration should obviously be in order!" he added with a laugh.

"You know, I concur!" Caitlin laughed. "Drinks and cake for everyone!"

Autumn only frowned. "…do you guys do this constantly, or what?"

"...well, on special occasions, we do." King noted. "And this _is_ a special occasion; wouldn't you guys agree?"

"...I'd have to agree." Sage nodded.

"…true…" Autumn replied. "…well…I think I should leave," he said, standing up.

"Wait…you don't wanna join the celebration or anything, Autumn?" Ani inquired curiously.

"…nah…I've got things to do…" Autumn replied. "Sonia kicked my butt last night, so I wanna make sure that I'll be ready for the training…"

Sage glanced at Autumn, and gave him a lone nod. "...very well."

With that, Autumn headed out.

"…poor guy," Ani muttered. "Maybe he's just bummed that he lost to Sonia?"

"Maybe…" supposed Hunter.

"...well, he'll likely get over it." King shrugged. "So, let's find out how this celebration will work out!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Caitlin chuckled.

"Yippee!" Ani exclaimed, making Bruno laugh.

"I'm starting to really like my new granddaughter!" Bruno chuckled, putting his arm around her.

* * *

><p>"…bunch of help they'd be…" Autumn grumbled. "…I'm starting to get the idea that they're trying to keep me from figuring out anything about that ewe…"<p>

"…hey there…"

Autumn turned around, and the next thing he knew, he was knocked onto the ground by the one that had been standing behind him. Autumn looked up to see a certain tall black ox. "…huh?"

"I couldn't help but overhear what you said to yourself," Raider chuckled.

"…hey… eavesdropping isn't a good thing to do," Autumn groaned, getting on his feet and dusting himself off. "Just mind your own business okay?"

"But I'm really curious; what reason would you have to want to know about Jill?" Raider asked.

"No reason," Autumn replied bluntly, just trying to blow him off.

"Oh? Alright then…" Raider was going to turn to walk away. "I guess I won't tell you what I know about her…"

Autumn's eyes widened. "Wait! What could you possibly know about her?"

"…more than this entire island has an idea of…" Raider sneered, looking back at him. "…but in order to give you that information, I need information in return; maybe something about you, newcomer?"

Autumn bit his lip. This guy rubbed him the wrong way, but to be honest, he really wanted to know what was with Jill; maybe even desperate. If she's had experiences with Metal Sonic, she might be more helpful in his search to find Metal Sonic.

"…I've devoted the last few years of my life to helping GUN find Metal Sonic…"

Raider chuckled curiously. "Oh really?"

Autumn looked away from him. "…yeah…his robots killed my mother and sister…"

"…you know…I think that Jill was involved with Metal Sonic," replied Raider, rubbing his chin.

Autumn looked back at him with wide eyes. Would he really know about that? Then some other question came up; "Hey, what do you know about the part of her that has the red eyes? The witch in her?"

"Oh, her?" Raider frowned a bit. "…that witch's name is Callous. Don't bother with her; she'd be a waste of your time…"

"But I haven't seen anybody fight so… cruel like that before!" uttered Autumn a bit fearfully. "…that witch gave me nightmares after the tournament…and just how could she have her kid here?"

"Lookie here, Autumn," Raider said, grabbing the moth.

Autumn was startled. "…h-how did you know my name?"

"…I have ways of getting the info I need," Raider mused, chuckling more. "The point is, that you can't ask too many questions. I can see that you're a very determined fellow to get the information that you want, so if you and I can make a little agreement, I can help you find all the information you need…"

Autumn wasn't sure what he was getting himself into, but he had a good feeling that it might lead him to the answers he wanted.

"…how?"

"…I think that your search should go to Mystic Ruins," Raider chuckled. "After all, Jill once knew the famous Miles "Tails" Prower."

"Get out! _Really?_" Autumn uttered in absolute amazement.

Raider shushed him severely, looking around to make sure no one had heard him. "…yeah, really," he whispered. "In fact; after Metal Sonic invaded Westopolis and sent that notice out to the world for a challenger to stop it, our little Jill was the one to stand up and halt him in his tracks."

Autumn grew shocked. "…b-but wasn't that….Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Raider scoffed. "He died before he could even make a scratch on Metal Sonic." Then he let go of Autumn and Autumn backed away.

"…you mean…that…Jill is really…_that _powerful?" Autumn uttered.

"Well, used to be anyway," Raider replied. "I think something happened to her so-called "power." That's why I think you should search Mystic Ruins; I think she used to live there with the ol' fox himself if I'm not mistaken…"

Autumn blinked and held his head. "…that's a lot to take in…"

"Well, get ready because I'm believe there's a hell of a lot more where that came from," Raider replied. "Since you have wings, you should be able to just fly there in the middle of the night and come back before sun up. All the admins would be asleep so you wouldn't have to worry about getting caught. I'll meet up with you before you fly off so I can give you some better instructions…"

"…wait…why would I not want to get caught by King and the others?" Autumn questioned.

"I think you already know the answer for yourself," Raider chuckled. "They're trying to keep what they know about Jill secret; they're trying to protect her from guys like us that want to know the truth."

Autumn grit his teeth. So they _did_ know what was going on with Jill… the whole time, they knew, and they were making sure that no one else knew. Seeing the look on his face, Raider grinned. "So I am to expect to see you later tonight?"

"…yeah…" Autumn replied.

"Good, then I'll see ya around," Raider chuckled, walking away.

Autumn forgot one last thing. "Hey! What's your name anyway?"

"It's Raider, pal," Raider replied, before he disappeared into the forest for good.

"…Raider, huh…" Autumn muttered, looking down at the ground.

"...hey." someone said behind Autumn.

Autumn looked up and turned. "Oh, hi Sonia," he greeted.

Sonia gave him a nod. "Feeling any better?" she inquired.

"…a little," Autumn murmured, rubbing his head. "I didn't sleep so good, so…"

"Guess it comes with being beat up a bit before bedtime." Sonia noted with a light shrug. "You'll get used to it after a while."

…_I wonder what Sonia knows…_ Autumn thought. "…hey, Sonia?"

"...hm?" Sonia blinked, as she looked back at Autumn. "What is it?"

…_though I probably should ask Sonia about Jill's background as opposed to how she was involved with Metal…_ "…what do you know about Jill and her daughter?" Autumn asked curiously. "I mean…it's kinda unusual for a mother to be on a dangerous place like this with a kid…"

Sonia blinked. "...interested in Jill, huh?" she hummed, before rubbing her chin. "...hm..." Then, she snapped her fingers. "...I'm not too keen on talking about Jill in the open like this; you never know what kinda hoodlums might be lurking about for information." she noted. "If you're that curious, we can head over to my cabin. It's not that far from here."

"…a cabin huh?" Autumn grew interested. "Sure; that sounds fine."

"Alright; just follow me." Sonia said with a nod, before she began walking off.

Autumn quickly hurried to follow her.

"…aside from that…how've you been over the years?" he began. "I mean, besides the fact that you were mad at me for not calling or anything…"

"...I've been fine, aside from that." Sonia said with a shrug. "I kept on training, until I heard about Safe Haven being opened, and... I came to the island. That's the basic gist of it."

"…so you were here pretty early on, huh?" Autumn asked.

"The very first year it was open to the public." Sonia nodded. "Aside from King and his buddies, I'm one of the true veterans on Safe Haven."

"Wow," Autumn was clearly amazed. "So you know them pretty well, huh?"

"Know them?" Sonia chuckled. "We're really great friends! Of _course_ I know them!" Then, she cleared her throat. "Of course, not the stuff they'd rather not talk about, but then again, that's not really my business to begin with."

"…I'm sure…" muttered Autumn. _…so I suppose they didn't tell her much either…_ "…hey! Is that your cabin right there!" Autumn suddenly pointed out.

"...yeah; it is." Sonia nodded; sure enough, they had reached her cabin. When they got to the front door, Sonia opened it and walked inside. "Lock the door behind you, would you?" she asked.

"Sure thing," Autumn replied; doing exactly that once he closed the door behind him. He took a minute to walk through the cabin, looking around. "…this is really nice for a cabin out here," he replied. Then he stepped on something and went to pick it up.

It was a pacifier.

"…huh?" Autumn was a bit confused.

"...oh!" Seeing that, Sonia picked it up. "What do you know; Jill must've dropped this while moving out." she mused, before smiling. "I'll just stop on by there later and return it."

"…moving…out?" Autumn grew interested again. "…you mean… she lived here with you?"

"Yeah." Sonia nodded. "When she first arrived on the island about a year ago, she didn't have anywhere to stay. King asked me if it was fine by me if she stayed, and it was." Then, she let out a brief sigh. "It's really been a whole year, huh... time sure flies by."

"…was it…pretty hard when she stayed here?" Autumn asked curiously.

"Not really." Sonia hummed, as she sat down on the couch. "There were a few ups and downs, but nothing that both of us couldn't handle." she added with a smile.

"…but being here with a small baby must have been tough…" Autumn murmured. "…where's the father anyway? Did he bail on her or something?"

Instantly, Sonia's smile fell, and she glanced to the side with a frown. "...the father was killed by some robbers, before Joy even was born." she murmured.

Autumn's eyes widened.

"…I'm….I'm sorry… I didn't even know…" he uttered.

"Of course you didn't. I didn't know when I first met her." Sonia murmured. "...she was distraught. She just ran away, until she came back to the village she was born in... oh, I forgot; the village she was _exiled_ from."

"…what?" Autumn was baffled. "…wait…I'm getting confused here…she went to the village she was born from, but she had been exiled from there before?"

"...it's a long story." Sonia sighed. "To make it short, she was born in that village, but the elders weren't exactly fond of her. Then someone set the village on fire, and since Jill abandoned her post to try and find whoever did it, she was exiled." Then, she folded her arms. "...she was just a teenager, back then..."

"…I…had no idea," Autumn murmured with a gulp.

"...and even though she happened to stumble upon Miles Prower and make some new friends, her life just got more screwed up after that!" Sonia added, before she let out a frustrated sigh and looked right up at the ceiling. "Damn it! I wish I was there for her back then, so I could've helped her out, or something! No one should have to go through half of what she's been through!"

…_if she had to face Metal Sonic, then I can imagine…_ Autumn thought, becoming silent.

Eventually, Sonia just sighed. "...damn... I just started ranting..." she murmured, before she glanced at Autumn. "...did that help you out in any way?" she asked.

"…little bit…" murmured Autumn. "…but… how in the world does she run into Miles "Tails" Prower?"

"...she passed out in the jungle near Mystic Ruins." Sonia explained. "There, Tails' assistant at the time found her unconscious, and got her to his lab, where she recovered."

"…oh yeah…he used to have an assistant…didn't he?" murmured Autumn.

"...mhrm." Sonia nodded, folding her arms. "...his assistant... was Joy's father."

Autumn's eyes widened.

…_no way… Professor Prower's assistant was Joy's father? Jill's more connected than I thought!_ He thought. "…that's amazing," he finally uttered. "…but if you said that she ran away, and then came here…then she's never gone back to see Professor Prower, has she?"

"...as far as I know, she hasn't." Sonia shrugged.

"…so…she's probably left quite a bit behind…" murmured Autumn, rubbing his head. _…sounds like Raider was on track; maybe she left behind things that might help me with my search…_ "…I wonder how the Professor's taking it…"

"...I'm sure that he misses her." Sonia murmured, as she let out a sigh. "I mean, it must've been at least two years since he last saw her."

…_and Metal's attacks were nearly three and a half years ago,_ Autumn thought. _…that helps to confirm Raider's info._ "…I don't know if I really should ask about it or not, but…" Autumn grew very nervous, rubbing his arms. "…what's with the rumor about those red eyes of hers…?"

Sonia grew silent.

"...I... don't know." she replied, glancing away. "They're probably just rumors."

Autumn tilted his head and looked at her strangely. "…but…but haven't you seen her in the tournament? How she fought?"

"...I didn't." Sonia shrugged.

"…but you were there! At the tournament!" Autumn uttered, throwing his hands up into the air. "She almost massacred Morrigan if Belinda didn't jump in and stop her!"

"...I didn't see her match; I just heard about the aftermath." Sonia replied.

"…but…but she _lived_ with you Sonia!" Autumn uttered, letting his arms fall. "Surely you must have seen…at least _something_…"

"...I... can't say that I have, no." Sonia murmured, shaking her head.

Autumn was absolutely baffled by Sonia's answer. She HAS to have seen something! Either she was really oblivious to everything, (and if Autumn still knew Sonia really well, that would never have been the case) or… like King and the others… she was hiding something too…

Then Autumn realized that he was asking _waaay_ too many questions.

"…sorry…I guess I got carried away with the questions…" he sighed, brushing his hair back. "…I couldn't help myself; it's the detective in me…and for the past few years, it's been real thick…"

"...I can understand that." Sonia hummed. "I mean, if my family had been hurt or worse by Metal Sonic, it's not like I would stay still for long..."

"…Right…" Autumn muttered. Then he pressed his back against the wall. "…just…_where_ could he have gone? Nothing could take Metal Sonic down so easily…he HAS to be somewhere out there…probably planning another try at world domination or something!"

And he clenched his teeth. "…just like the scientist that made him…"

Sonia narrowed her eyes, as she glanced to the side. "...you know... that _may_ not be the case..." she murmured under her breath.

What Sonia said totally threw him off guard.

"…what?" Autumn muttered.

"...I'm just saying, you should be ready for anything." Sonia said louder, glancing back at Autumn. "Who knows? Maybe he is plotting, and maybe he isn't. You can't exactly say anything about it without being absolutely certain about it."

Autumn blinked a little bit at Sonia in confusion.

"...what?" Sonia blinked back at him. "That's just how I see it."

"…but what makes you think Metal Sonic would be doing anything else?" Autumn uttered.

"...eh; just some rumors I've heard." Sonia shrugged. "Like I said, he could be doing anything. I'm just open for anything; so I won't be thrown off my guard or anything."

"…that's…just strange…" Autumn commented. "…I mean, I can understand your reasoning… but toward Metal Sonic? Sonia, he's a robot that was programmed to kill, and that's all he's ever going to be…" Autumn turned around and headed for the door. "Nothing anyone says about him will change my mind about that…"

"...Autumn." Sonia called to him before he left. "Don't do something out of hate; it never ends well."

Autumn stopped and looked back at her. "...I'm not doing it out of hate...I'm doing it to protect everyone else," and then he walked away.

Letting out a sigh, Sonia folded her arms. _...even that usually doesn't end too well..._ she thought.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I think Autumn really should've heeded Sonia's warning if you ask me :D<strong>_


	15. Chapter 15

"…oh god…I'm so sore…" May muttered.

"...mmmh... me too..." Hex uttered, rubbing her head. "...but _my god_, was it worth it."

"…I can't move my arms or legs at all…" May chuckled.

"...I can barely move; which isn't something that happens often." Hex noted with a chuckle. "Seems like we were just meant to meet, May."

May smirked.

"...my sis is probably out there looking for me," she muttered. "Us twins stick together most of the time, after all…"

"True, true..." Hex nodded, as she rubbed her chin a little. "...I take it that your sister isn't exactly someone who parties quite like you do, huh?"

"Eh…she's different every time," May replied. "Sometimes she'll party as hard as me, and other times she'll just wanna talk to people. She's the more social type outta the two of us…"

"I see..." Hex nodded. "...would you find it impossible for her to enjoy one of my parties?"

"…maybe if she was drunk enough," May supposed, just barely shrugging.

"Right..." Hex hummed, before she managed to sit up; wincing a bit while she did so. "...you know, I got an idea; one I think you'd find interesting, May." she eventually said, with a slight smirk.

"What's that?" May managed to turn her head to look at Hex.

"It might be tomorrow, a few days or even a few weeks from now..." Hex began, still smirking. "...but what would you say to you making some new "friends" on the island, and then bringing them here for a _real_ party?"

"…hey…that sounds like a fun idea," May chuckled.

"It does, doesn't it?" Hex chuckled as well. "The more, the merrier, as the saying goes."

"Right…" May replied. "…that is, if I'd ever be able to move again…"

"Oh, give it a few hours, at most." Hex hummed, as she lied down again. "You should be good to go by then."

"If you say so," May replied.

"Trust me; I know what I'm talking about." Hex chuckled. "...still... it was one night I won't soon forget..."

"You and me both," sighed May.

* * *

><p>That night, Autumn snuck out of the barracks quickly and quietly, flying through the air so he wouldn't leave any footprints behind in the ground. It wasn't very long until he reached the harbor. Thankfully, neither Lin nor Flamenco was out tonight.<p>

…but neither was Raider, when he looked around.

…_this better not be some practical joke, Raider…_ Autumn thought. When he heard rustling bushes, he flinched and looked quickly toward the direction he thought he heard it.

A tall Mobian in a coat approached him, lifting up a hat.

"…Raider…what's the point of disguising yourself here?" Autumn uttered, pressing his palm on his face.

"What? I like the get up," insisted Raider underneath the hat. He leaned down and turned Autumn's head out toward the sea. "Alright…fly that direction," he indicated with a point to the left, "and you should get to Mystic Ruins in three hours at least; depends on how fast you can fly."

"…okay," whispered Autumn with a nod.

"Whatever you find, as long as you can carry it; I only ask that you bring to me," Raider said.

"…why?" Autumn asked suspiciously.

"I'm just like you; wanting to seek out as much information as possible," Raider replied. "I like to keep a track record on all the soldiers here. Jill just happens to be a soldier that I still haven't figured out yet."

"…but she's been here for a year; how don't you have all the info you need on her?" Autumn questioned.

"…because she's a tough cookie; that's why," grumbled Raider. "It also doesn't help that there's a bunch of people here to protect her; Sonia included."

Autumn's eyes widened. "…so…Sonia…was keeping information from me?"

Raider smirked. "Well, let's just say that I watched you two talking… she didn't disclose to you the whole truth. She, like King and Sage and the others, are just protecting her from people that start questioning too much…"

Autumn thought to earlier today when he learned a little bit about Jill's past. _…Sonia has a bit of a reason to, though,_ he thought. _If Jill lost Joy's father to robbers and ran away from that and Miles Prower, I'm sure she was a basket case when she got here…I know Sonia would be protective of anyone that could be that vulnerable…_

_...but the fact that she still hid some info from me tells me that I won't be able to trust her,_ Autumn also thought. "…but how do I except to trust you, either, Raider?" Autumn suddenly asked.

"…because I'm the only one on this island that's willing to help you; for a bit of personal gain of course," Raider replied. "All I'm asking for is harmless information; whatever you find. That's all. You can even keep whatever you find if you want afterward…"

Autumn still didn't like the way Raider was playing this out… after all, he knew how to pick up the bad types from where he lived, and Raider was just a plain jane thug… but a smart one nonetheless. "…fine…" he muttered. "…but just what happens if I don't find anything?"

"Just come back and then if you want, try again another night," Raider replied with a shrug. "If you still don't find anything, then I'll let it go."

…_no strings attached, huh?_ He thought. _He doesn't seem stupid… so maybe that information is more valuable than I thought…_ "…alright…" Autumn muttered. He brushed up his wings and started fluttering up, taking off through the night.

"Remember; try and be back before sun up!" Raider called. When Autumn was out of sight, Raider chuckled to himself. "Better not mess with Callous, huh Johnny?" he sneered in mockery. "You didn't say anything about getting others to do the dirty work for me…"

And with that, he left into the forest.

* * *

><p>Sure, it took a few hours give or take, but eventually when Autumn was starting to get tired, he saw land in the distance. When he sped up, he sighed with relief. "There's the train station for Mystic Ruins. I should be close."<p>

Finally he was able to land on the cliff side that overlooked the sea and the train station was just on its edge. Right now, it was mostly rocky climate, but Autumn could see the trees of the jungles behind some of the hills. "…this is Mystic Ruins alright," he muttered to himself.

Then he heard laughter, and turned. Up on the hill, toward the sea, there was a cottage with a water wheel. Some of its lights were on, and Autumn could hear the laughter coming from there. "…that's it…" he uttered with wide eyes. "…that's Professor Prower's lab…"

He hurried up onto the hill, and crept slowly toward one of the windows. First, he tried to catch his breath though. Flying here took a lot out of him, and plus he was a bit nervous just peeping into the home of Miles "Tails" Prower. He heard all the stories about his adventures with Sonic the Hedgehog…

…and his unexplainable death…

Autumn just finally pushed himself to peer over into the window, and he stopped at what he saw.

There were children there… Autumn was utterly shocked to see there were children there with the one and only Professor Miles "Tails" Prower, sitting around and drinking something warm, since he could see the steam rising out of their mugs.

"Wow, I think this is the latest you've ever stayed up Professor," one of them was a black bear with a brown baseball cap worn backwards; probably in his preteens.

"Well, if Captain Charmy's able to stay up so late, I would think the Professor would be able to," that was a lion that was about the same age; looking like he was starting to grow out his black mane. He didn't have much, other than a headband with zig-zag designs on it.

…_they know Captain Charmy of the Chaotix too?_ Autumn thought in utter disbelief.

"Of course he would! If the Professor can build cool planes and robots, he can stay up late!" another lion spoke; however, he seemed quite a bit older than the other two, with his red mane being quite long. What he wore was a simple pair of black jeans.

"Well, I can tell you this; it's the latest I've stayed up in my old age." the old fox chuckled, as he looked at the children. "Back when I was your age, I could stay up _much_ later."

"I bet!" the bear laughed.

Autumn just blinked. _…they're talking to each other like good friends… just who are these boys?_

"...so, Professor, think you can tell us another story?" the older lion said with a wide grin.

Tails just chuckled. "What story _haven't_ I told you kids more than once?" he mused, as he adjusted his glasses a bit.

"I don't know," the younger lion said, sipping his drink. "…but I think we have a visitor."

Autumn gasped and moved away from the window. That lion knew he was _there?_

"A visitor, hm?" the Professor hummed. "...perhaps I should prepare another cup for him, too?"

"Professor, we don't know if it's a guy or a girl yet." the older lion pointed out with a snicker, before he looked at the younger lion. "Hey, what kinda visitor is it? Should we open the door and find out?"

"Lets!" exclaimed the bear.

Autumn grew very nervous then, and by the time that the door opened, Autumn started bolting into a run. "Hey! Wait!" the bear called after him.

"What? Where'd he run off to?" the older lion called as well.

Suddenly though…Autumn tripped. He knocked his knee into the ground, and from past injuries on said knee, he gave out a yelp and fell to the ground.

"Uh-oh!" The bear hurried out there, and Autumn couldn't believe how fast the bear got to him. "Hey! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"…uh…um…" Autumn wasn't sure what to say at all, but he grunted in pain.

"You're not hurt, are you?" At that point, the older lion caught up to them as well, looking at Autumn worriedly as well.

"…I have a bad knee is all," grunted Autumn, trying to get up, but failing.

"C'mon! We'll take you inside!" the bear said. "Help me, Jack!"

"Right!" the older lion, Jack, nodded, as he took Autumn and hoisted him up on his feet; supporting him on his shoulder. "C'mon; we'll get you fixed up in no time!"

"…but... but I…" Autumn was really confused right now.

"Don't worry; we won't hurt you," the bear said with a friendly smile, supporting Autumn on his shoulder as well. "I'm Striker!" And while they brought Autumn inside, he grew nervous, and uneasy… and yet, he was still confused as to why they would help him.

When they got in, the younger lion and the old fox, Tails, waited for them. "...looks like you hurt yourself." he mused, shaking his head. "Come; take a seat. I'll go make you a cup of hot chocolate." With that said, he walked into the kitchen.

"You heard him." Jack said with a smile. "...hey, Striker, Milo; where do you think he should sit down?"

"Let's set him on the couch," The younger lion, Milo, suggested, standing up to make room for him. Before Autumn could even protest at all, they set him down gently.

"There you go!" Striker said. "Feeling better?"

"…uh…a bit…" Autumn muttered. "…you…you guys just helped a complete stranger that was looking in your window…you sure you're okay with that…?"

"...yeah!" Jack said with a wide smile. "Why wouldn't we help out someone who needs it?"

_"...hey, do we have a guest?"_ At that point, someone fluttered into the room. It remained suspended in the air as it just looked right at Autumn; namely, a plush toy that bore a striking resemblance to the Professor.

Autumn was just a bit startled by it, because it had a very creepy vibe to it. "Hey, don't worry!" Striker assured him. "It's just Tails Doll. He won't hurt you."

_"Why would I?"_ the plush, Tails Doll, shrugged, as he fluttered over to them. _"What's your name?"_

"We don't know yet." Jack shrugged with a smile. "...so, what _is_ your name?"

"…it's uh… it's Autumn," Autumn muttered.

"…that's a nice name," Milo spoke, looking over. "My name's Milo. Why were you so concerned that you ran away?"

Autumn couldn't help but stare at the lion. He was so young, and yet he detected him there without even looking at the window. "…well, uh…where I come from… people don't usually like peeping toms…" he muttered. "…in fact… where I came from, strangers didn't help each other out…"

"...hm... that doesn't sound good at all..." Jack hummed, folding his arms behind his head. "...but we're not like that, so don't worry." he added, grinning.

"He's right about that." With that, Tails walked back out of the kitchen; holding a cup in his hand, which he offered to Autumn when he stopped by him. "Here; this should freshen you up."

Autumn stared right at Tails for a very long time, frozen.

"…hey, uh, you gonna take the hot chocolate?" Striker chuckled.

Autumn snapped out of it and took the mug.

"…what's the matter?" Milo asked him. "Is something wrong?"

"…I…I just…didn't think I'd see Miles "Tails" Prower in person…" Autumn uttered, looking down at his mug shyly.

"...oh, you don't need to act nervous or anything." Tails chuckled. "It's not like I'm in my prime, so really, you're just looking at an aged fox."

"Who's really good with machines!" Jack threw in.

_"And is really smart, to boot!" _Tails Doll cheered.

"...you two aren't exactly helping..." Tails chuckled again, as he took his own seat again.

"So Autumn, what brought you here?" Striker asked curiously.

"…um…" Autumn wasn't sure what to really say, but he looked around the room a bit…

…then his eyes fell on some picture frames that were in a particular corner. "…whoa…" Most of them were Tails, but a lot of them were many different people.

Some were of Sonic the Hedgehog himself.

Striker looked at what he was looking at, and grinned. "Cool, huh?"

Jack grinned as well. "Do you like the pictures, Autumn?"

"…yeah…" Autumn replied.

Eventually, there was one particular one he looked at. This one was of a gigantic tree house that looked like it was in the middle of the jungle. A group of Mobians stood in front of the tree house, posing for the picture. Tails was there, as well as the boys (looking a bit younger than they were now) and even Cream the Rabbit and Shadow the Hedgehog were standing there.

There were also three other Mobians Autumn saw. One was a brick-red bull with a nose ring and a relaxed grin on his face. Another one was a young husky-wolf that Autumn knew too well. _Ani too? _He thought in amazement.

The other…

…was Jill, when she was a teenager.

Autumn started to get shaky, and he didn't know why. It was true though; clear as day… Jillian Condit knew Miles "Tails" Prower, and even these boys, with that assistant of theirs…

"…that one…" he uttered, nudging his head toward it. "…there's…you boys on it but who're the others…?" He at least asked to see what they had to say on it…

Jack looked back at that picture... and his smile actually fell. "...oh... um..."

"…well…" Striker got up to the picture to pick it up and take it to Autumn. "…that's Ani right there; she's a friend of ours that helps her Dad run a place called Safe Haven," and he pointed to the husky-wolf.

…_I thought so…_ Autumn thought.

_"...as for the other two..." _Tails Doll began, as he pointed at the bull. _"...that's Brick. He was also a friend of ours, and was the Professor's assistant..."_

Tails let out a brief sigh, as he closed his eyes.

Autumn swallowed, and looked around at all of them. He knew that he was starting to tread on very sensitive territory, and since he knew what happened to Brick…

"…and…her?" he pointed to Jill.

It became dead silent…

"…um…" there was a sniffle, and Autumn looked over to see Striker holding back some tears. "…um… excuse me for a minute…" he muttered, getting up and walking out of the room.

Jack rubbed his neck. "...um... it's... kinda hard to talk about..." he murmured, "...but... oh, geez..."

_"...ngh..."_ With a slight sigh, Tails Doll glanced away. _"...that's Jill... she was also a friend of ours..."_

Autumn swallowed again.

Eventually, Milo sighed, a bit sadly. "…Well, it's hard to talk about because something happened to her and Brick almost two years ago…They were in a relationship and um…" even Milo seemed to be having a hard time, but he shut his eyes to keep from losing it. "…something pretty bad happened to Brick…and we haven't seen Jill since…" Tails just sighed again, while the others just remained dreary.

…_Sonia was right…_ Autumn thought. He looked down at the picture frame in his hands. _…they…don't even know where she is right now…_ he thought. _…and there's no way I'd have the heart to tell them either…_

"…I'm sorry…" Autumn finally uttered. "…it was none of my business. I shouldn't have asked…"

"…you were curious," Milo muttered, wiping his eyes. "…and I think the more we openly talk about it…the more we might start healing…" Then he stood up. "I'm going to check on Striker to make sure he's okay," he muttered, walking off.

Eventually, Jack cleared his throat. "...so, um..." he began; desperately trying to think of something else to talk about. "...oh! What brings you around here, anyway, Autumn?"

Autumn sighed and looked to the ground. "…I was looking for something, but now I'm not so sure about it…"

"...looking for what?" Jack hummed. "Maybe we could help you out?"

Autumn became silent, and looked up at Jack. Then he looked over at Tails.

…_do…I even have the strength to tell them what happened to me? What I'm looking for? _He thought. Then he shut his eyes. _…of course I can tell them. Metal Sonic's a monster…that much they probably already know…_

"…I'm uh…looking for…" but Autumn still couldn't quite get it out.

_"...well?" _Tails Doll hummed.

Autumn looked down at his mug.

"…I'm looking for Metal Sonic…because his robots killed my mother and sister…"

And at that exact moment, whatever mood Jack had tried building up shattered instantly.

"…when he invaded Westopolis all those years ago… I was living there," Autumn continued, unable to look up. "…I lost them, and my home…so…I came here to see if the Professor knew anything that could help me…"

Well, that last bit he made up; he actually suspected that, if anything, he'd find what he was looking for at that tree house.

"...I... am sorry for your loss..." Tails murmured, as he eventually looked back at Autumn. "...sadly, though... I don't think I know anything that you'd find too helpful."

"…oh?" Autumn slowly looked back at Tails.

…_but…but he's gotta know something…_ Autumn thought in more utter disbelief. _…at least some kind of lead…_

"...if you recall that transmission Metal Sonic made some years back, he simply vanished off the face of the earth; leaving no trace behind after him..." Tails murmured. "...as far as I know, no one's found him to this day; like he literally vanished..."

"…oh…I see then…" Autumn muttered, shutting his eyes.

…_they're hiding something too…I can feel it in my gut…_ he thought.

"…hey, Autumn?" Autumn looked up and saw Striker and Milo walk in, looking a bit better. "…you wanna come with us to see the Clubhouse?" Striker suggested.

"…it's getting late, and we should probably let the Professor get some rest," Milo agreed with a nod. "He might be able to pull late-nighters every now and then, but he still needs his sleep."

"...I guess if the young ones insist..." Tails mused with a slight chuckle.

"...yeah; you can come along and see the Clubhouse for the night." Jack nodded. "Maybe you could rest up there as well?"

"…maybe," Autumn said with a nod. He gulped a bit of his hot chocolate down, and when he set the mug aside, Striker and Milo came to help him up.

"…well…as awkward as it was…" Autumn muttered, looking over at Tails. "…it was an honor meeting you in person, Professor…"

"...glad to hear it." Tails mused with a slight smile. "You boys be safe, now."

_"We will!"_ Tails Doll nodded, as he fluttered over to Jack and perched himself on his head.

Jack just smiled a bit. "Alright; let's go!"

"Right," The boys helped Autumn limp his way out the door.

While they walked on, Autumn kept looking back at the shop. _…you know…I really always wanted to meet him…_ he thought, looking down onto the ground. _…but not like that…_

As they kept walking, Tails Doll briefly turned his head towards Autumn, before he looked back ahead of them.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of walking, the gang eventually reached the large clubhouse, which Jack instantly broke into a run towards. "Milo, Striker, Autumn, hurry!" he called to them with a laugh. "I'll start the elevator without you if you don't hurry!"<p>

"Hey! We gotta be careful Jack!" Striker laughed. "Autumn can't hardly walk you know!"

"…oh…uh, I'm okay…" Autumn was really in awe at the size of this tree house towering over them; and it looked so well built.

"…amazing, isn't it?" Milo said. "We all worked together to build it."

"We sure did!" Jack called with a laugh. "Now hurry; Whisker's probably waiting for us!"

Autumn blinked. "…Whisker?"

"Oh wait till you meet 'im, Autumn!" Striker laughed. "You're gonna love him!"

They made it to the elevator and both Jack and Striker grew even more eager the higher the elevator carried them.

When the elevator finally stopped...

"YARR!" a loud call rang through the air. "Ye lollygaggin' scallawags be late!" it added, with a hearty laugh.

"We know, Whisker!" Jack laughed, as he ran out of the elevator.

When Milo and Striker carried Autumn out of the elevator, Autumn's eyes widened. "…no way…"

"Hey Capt! We have a guest with us!" Striker called. "His name's Autumn!"

"Ah, ye have a guest?" As it turned out, the voice belonged to a towering pirate robot, who looked down at the moth. "...well, how be ye doin', Autumn? The name's Captain Whisker; ye best remember 't! Yar har har har har!"

"Isn't he _so cool?_" Jack said in a giddy tone, as he looked at Autumn.

Autumn's eyes went even wider at the sight of Whisker… and then he looked at Jack. "…em…just…_how_ old are you, exactly?"

"Me?" Jack hummed, before smiling. "I'm 20 years old!"

"…_what?"_ Autumn uttered in disbelief. "But… but you act like you're five years old!"

"That's Jack for you," Striker said.

_"Yep; good old Jack."_ Tails Doll said with a laugh.

"I'm not that old!" Jack laughed as well.

Autumn just blinked. He's never really met any kids that were as… interesting as they were. They were so happy go lucky, (except of course when it came to some tough memories) but they seemed really cheerful, and they helped a complete stranger before they even knew his name.

…he's…just never seen anybody like these boys before…

"So, want the grand tour?" asked Milo.

Autumn shook out of it. "Uh, sure!"

"Alrighty; ye just follow me, and I'll show ye about!" Whisker nodded, as he began walking down the hall.

"Come on!" Jack called, as he ran after Whisker, with Tails Doll fluttering off his head first.

When the boys helped Autumn after them, he cleared his throat. "…so…how do you guys know the Professor?" Autumn asked curiously.

"Oh boy, that was a long time ago," Striker mused. "See; it was just me and Jack and Milo back then and we were gonna set sail to explore the ocean!"

"But then, all of a sudden, this freak storm hit us dead on!" Jack exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Striker continued. "It rocked the boat back and forth, and Milo got all scaredy cat on us!" he laughed to tease Milo.

Milo only smirked. "Hey Striker, what happens when a Mommy and Daddy love each other very much?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Striker screamed and held his ears. "I'M NOT LISTENING!"

"NOOOOOO!" Jack cried out as well, clasping his hands over his ears. "I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT AGAIN!"

_"...I swear, they're never gonna grow up."_ Tails Doll remarked with a sense of dryness.

Autumn would actually think this was hilarious, but he was still confused as hell by what Milo said and their reactions. Were they talking about sex or something? Probably the boys weren't comfortable finding out about where babies came from after all…

…it got a small chuckle out of him.

"Well anyway," Milo continued. "Eventually the storm passed, but only after our ship wrecked here on the shores of Mystic Ruins."

"...what did he say?" Jack asked Tails Doll; as he still was covering his ears.

_"He got to the part when you woke up on the shore."_ Tails Doll noted.

"Huh?" Still, Jack didn't move his hands from his ears.

"I GOT TO THE PART WHERE WE WOKE UP ON THE SHORE!" Milo shouted as loud as he could.

"OH!" Striker pulled out his hands. "Yeah, we woke up here the next morning and started wandering!"

After Tails Doll pulled his hands away, Jack nodded. "And after walking a bit, we found the Professor's house!"

"Yeah; he fed us and when we told him that we came from the Nameless Zone, he was shocked," Striker replied.

Autumn looked at them in surprise. "You guys came from the Nameless Zone? Where Princess Blaze went?"

"Yep!" Jack nodded with a wide grin.

"Aye; I believe I be from there as well; though I was brought to Mobius many years ago!" Whisker noted with a hearty laugh.

"Oh really?" Autumn muttered.

"Aye!" Whisker nodded.

"Oh, man, we've been talking so much that we've forgotten about the tour!" Jack laughed after a brief while.

"Well, we're passing by the bedrooms anyway!" Striker said. He pointed toward one of them. "That's our rooms! Mine, Jack's and Milo's!"

_"Me and Whisker don't really need rooms, so there you go!" _Tails Doll snickered.

"We used to have a pet chao too! His name's Buddy!" Striker added with a smile. "But he's at Grandma Cream's Chao daycare now taking care of some eggs of his."

"Aye, that he be!" Whisker nodded. "...speaking of, we should probably be thinkin' of visitin' her soon!"

"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Jack nodded. "We haven't seen Grandma Cream in a long while!"

"…you guys sure know a lot of people…" Autumn muttered.

"Do we?" Jack blinked curiously.

_"...uh, yeah."_ Tails Doll nodded.

* * *

><p>When he was sure that the boys were asleep and the robots deactivated, Autumn passed the hallways in a quick limp, fluttering a little bit to keep himself on his feet. Quietly, he made his way to the one door that none of them even touched; the one he assumed had to be the room he was searching for.<p>

And when he opened the door, it confirmed it.

"…Jill's old room," he muttered to himself.

The place was clean; spotless in fact. It was just a large bed with soft white sheets on it, and a few shelves and dressers and chest drawers here and there… full of stuff. Books, notepads… lots of that.

"…question is…where do I start looking?" Autumn uttered.

Well, eventually he picked one end and started shuffling through everything. At first, he most looked through story books and some books that Tails most likely lended to her when she was still here…

…but when he opened up a particular one, he saw writing…

_"Dear Diary,"_

_"Today started out as any ordinary day for the gang. For a minute this morning, I looked at my bow. I just looked at it while thinking about home again, wondering if my family misses me. Don't get me wrong, I like living with my friends here in the tree house; we call it the Clubhouse, or at least, the younger ones do."_

_"I remember how excited the five of them were when we finally finished building this enormous thing; Striker, Milo, Ani and Jack, and of course, Buddy. If it wasn't for the Professor, I'm not sure how much we would've accomplished doing that. What a kind-hearted man, and I feel a bit of sympathy for him because he lives all alone in that big, empty lab of his. I know he tells us that he doesn't get lonely, but I think he only says that so we don't worry about him so much. I think he really does need our company, especially since all of his own friends aren't around. Sure, there's Grandma Cream who runs the Chao Care. She tells us that all their friends are either far, far away, or they moved up to the "great beyond," and that as far as she knew, the remaining of their time were her, the Professor, and Shadow."_

_"Everything in the Clubhouse is alright. Milo recently had a case of the chicken pox, but he's getting over it now, and thankfully he didn't spread it to the others. He still complains about itching every now and then, but nothing as serious as before. As usual, they're just their happy, energetic selves. Wish I was that carefree…"_

_"I don't understand why the Professor and Shadow won't tell us anything. I look back and I see them both talking quietly behind our backs, and sometimes one of the four will say something, (because we all know a Chao can't speak), and it will draw a concerned expression from the Professor. I'm not sure if they notice it, but I don't say anything about it. Brick's noticed it too."_

"…this is it…" Autumn uttered, closing the book. "…this is Jill's diary…" his eyes widened. "…the answers I'm looking for could be in here…"

…he opened the book again and quickly flipped through the pages. Then he stopped on some…

"_Dear Diary,"_

"_Two days ago, Shadow the Hedgehog passed away. He was a beloved friend who served a long time in life, but now he is finally resting. I wonder how long ago Shadow wanted to die…it's a terrible thought, I know, but being immortal can drive someone insane. It only proves how strong Shadow was, especially with a past like his."_

"…Shadow's death…" Autumn muttered to himself, reading on…

"_Then yesterday, we came to the Chaotix for help, only to find that one of their members had double-crossed us, and supposedly worked for Metal. I missed what happened since I was unconscious, but once I woke up, everything was explained to me. I can't believe Cal would do something like this…and after what he said to me; after kissing me."_

"…what?" Autumn just couldn't believe it, and his eyes raced on to keep reading.

"_I wasn't sure at all what to say to his feelings, but the truth was I didn't really feel the same way. It just didn't feel…right to me, especially after what we found out about him. It's a shame what became of him. No one really knows just how Cal came to work for Metal, but now he's no longer around for questioning. It looked like Captain Charmy took it pretty hard when the news reached him. Not only did Cal help the agency to flourish and thrive in business because of his smarts, but he was also a valued friend."_

"_Although Cal is gone, Whisker seems to make up for that. He made fast friends with the younger ones, and he's not at all bad. We might have lost an ally, but at least we gained another one too; but Boomer is her same old self. She doesn't trust Whisker as fully as the rest of us…I wonder why she doesn't like robots so much. Considering she's a weapon's specialist and mechanically gifted in other areas, you'd have to wonder."_

"_But my mind is still wrapped around that battle I had with Metal that fateful night."_

…_oh my god…Raider was right…_ Autumn thought; his eyes reading on quicker and quicker in uneasy anticipation.

"_Purity; an energy that intertwines with Chaos."_

"_It suddenly came to me that night, just like my powers suddenly did. More so, it feels like this may have been something I forgot a long time ago, and now I'm trying to remember; and not that I made myself forget like those who have traumatizing pasts, but its like my memory was taken away from me. The real question is why. Why is it coming back to me like this?"_

"_I've never been so fixated on my past like this. There are still some unknown elements to it I don't understand, but now that my powers have returned, I feel like I'm beginning to get some answers. I fear for what's to come though. Even though there haven't been sure signs, I fear the possibility…"_

"_The possibility of Deity Novagod returning."_

"_My mind will be occupied with other things, though. After using most of yesterday for recuperation, we're ready for our search for the Chaos Emeralds. At least being with the Chaotix allows us some resources, which gives us some fair ground to stand on in this battle."_

"_Captain Charmy was even nice enough to give me an empty notebook for this diary entry, since my diary was left at the Clubhouse, and we can't really go back there, can we?"_

"_Although thankfully I eventually got back to this one and I was able to write the same entry in place. Don't want to loose track…"_

Autumn dropped the diary and stepped away from it. That was more info than he was totally ready for, and he took a few short, uneasy breaths. First of all, he knew Calculate the Monkey; he was part of the Chaotix unit that was now working for GUN. The fact that it was written that he had worked for Metal Sonic… it infuriated him. Someone had worked for him, and now they were a part of GUN?

Jill knew _very _important people… but… then it went on to talk about powers like Purity and a man named Deity Novagod. Just what the heck was that about? It also said that they set out to search for Chaos Emeralds…

…now there were even more pieces to the puzzle that Autumn had to put together; and it only got all the more confusing to him. "…what the hell…?" he uttered, going to pick the diary back up. "…what is it about this girl…?" he uttered, flipping through some more pages to stop on some more.

"_Dear Diary,"_

_"This morning I set out early, because I don't want to be held back by any more goodbyes. That's why I made the most of last night to spend with everyone, but I couldn't have thought of a better way to end the night than slumbering in Brick's arms. I'll admit that it sounds overly sentimental, but I won't be seeing them for a while."_

_"I anticipate a brutal trial…and I hope that I can see my friends again after it's done."_

"…training or something?" Autumn wondered, flipping through some more pages…

Then he stopped and his eyes fell on a really looooong entry…

_"Dear Diary..."_

_"So much has happened since my last entry in this thing...so much...There's no way I could even try to write it all."_

_"My voice is gone...my powers are gone...but I'm on the path of healing. I've felt relaxed, and more content in the Clubhouse...and the encouragement of my friends is helping very much. I think I feel truly happy since Deity was put away for good..."_

_"...maybe not entirely though. There are times my mind falls on Metal again. The news have reported his disappearance to the public and the world was astonished. The presses questioned GUN thoroughly, but got very little answers. My friends requested GUN that they keep the story confidential...I didn't want to be overwhelmed with reporters, especially when I had no voice. The Commander understood, and to my gratitude, took care of it. The media has no clue about me...I'm entirely invisible. This was also a good opportunity to clear the names of the GUN agents; King, Queen, Ripper, Miser, Sage, and Hunter. They were so relieved..."_

"…no…no wait, no…" Autumn muttered, his eyes widened. What kind of garbage was he suddenly reading? _Her mind fell on Metal?_ Was she actively _concerned for him?_

_"...I still worry about Metal though. Is he alright? Has Deity tried anything? These questions remained unanswered now that he's gone...but I try to have faith. He's alright, I tell myself. He can handle it...he was willing to take that burden. After all, he was the one who created Unity...something that still amazes me sometimes. But thinking of that only makes me think of the song I sang to him...and reminds me how much I miss my voice."_

Autumn threw the diary onto the ground then. "No… no it's not… no…" he held his head and backed away into the wall. "No… this… this is bull shit…"

Jill…it sounded like she _cared_ about Metal Sonic. He didn't have a single clue about what she was talking about, but she really, actually was _concerned!_ Autumn didn't know how to feel, other than wondering if Jill was mentally insane!

"Feeling conflicted?"

Autumn jumped with a yelp and looked over to see Milo standing in the doorway.

"…so…this is what you really came here for…wasn't it?" Milo muttered.

"…uh…um no! Of course not!" Autumn muttered with a nervous smile. Then he scratched his head, chuckling. "…maybe I uh…shouldn't have been snooping around, huh?"

Milo glared at Autumn.

"…don't lie to me Autumn. You've already lied plenty to us tonight…"

Autumn froze. "…huh…?"

Milo sighed. "…I have powers that many don't. I can see, detect, and sense spirits; disembodied or not. I learn a lot of things about a person just by peering into their soul…and Autumn, yours is very troubled right now. You've stretched the truth about why you're here…and you already knew some of the stuff that we told you tonight…"

Autumn grew very nervous.

"…you were telling the truth about searching for Metal Sonic, for killing your family; I believe you there," Milo continued, closing his eyes. "…but Autumn…you don't know what you're getting yourself into. You have no idea what really happened to Metal Sonic…"

Autumn grit his teeth. "…then…then why didn't anybody just TELL me what happened, huh? Instead of letting me grief over my mother and sister and vow revenge on a killing machine? _Instead of just hiding the truth from me?_"

Milo looked at Autumn sadly.

"…because…you never would believe what we'd have to tell you…even if we tried to tell you."

Autumn wiped away angry tears and took up the diary. "I'm leaving with this," he uttered, holding up the diary, "and when I figure everything out, I'm going to search for Metal Sonic by myself and make sure he suffers for what he did!"

"…Autumn…" Milo sighed again. "…I'm warning you again; you're really going to be shocked at all the things you find out…but I guess I don't really have the power to stop you…"

Then he opened his eyes and looked at Autumn. "…just promise me that nothing will happen to that thing. We don't have very many momentums of Jill, and we'd appreciate that you would at least respect something that belongs to one of our friends…"

Autumn fell silent…

_"...so you're actually letting him go look for Big Bro?" _At that point, a smaller figure fluttered into view, right above Milo.

Autumn looked in shock to see Tails Doll there.

"…it's the only way he'd really believe for himself, Tails Doll," Milo muttered.

Autumn really was stupefied that despite knowing what he lied about, he was still going to let him look. But still; what in the world was the big deal about this whole "being shocked at what he would find out thing?"

Guess the only way to find out was to go look for himself.

Autumn turned to open a nearby window, letting in a bit of a breeze… and then he looked back at Milo and Tails Doll.

They just stood there, without making any attempt at following him.

_"...just bring the diary back when you're done. Please." _Tails Doll eventually said.

Autumn's brows arched.

…all this…and it made him seem like such a bad guy; taking advantage of such nice kids that helped him when he got hurt.

"…yeah, I promise I'll bring it back…" Autumn replied. "…I don't know how long it'll be, so…"

"…just take as much time as you need to…" Milo replied.

Autumn blinked some more… and then he flew right out the window.

As he flew off, however, two figures happened to notice him outside.

"...looks like he's off." a female voice hummed. "Cal, you caught all that, right?"

"…yeah," from out of thin air, a half-cybornetic monkey appeared, adjusting his glasses. "…but I don't get it. Milo said he was looking for Metal Sonic, yet he went through Jill's stuff without anything that would direct him there…I find that strange; don't you Natal?"

"...quite..." the bullfrog he talked to, Natal, nodded, as she adjusted her own glasses a bit. "...if only Sage was around; then we could've found out how he came to that conclusion." Then, she looked back at the monkey. "Still, if he's headed for Metropolis, there's no telling what he could pull off. Should we have someone keep an eye on him for us?"

Cal looked back at where Autumn was flying off. "…yeah…and I know just the guy…"

* * *

><p>Autumn flew for a very long time… in fact, he got tired really quickly since he spent all night flying…<p>

…eventually, he had to stop and rest in the middle of a wasteland, sitting down and catching his breath.

"…I can't believe it…" he uttered. "…I can't FUCKING BELIEVE IT!" he threw the diary onto the ground in a rampage, and threw his fist on the ground. "HOW COULD ANYONE CARE ABOUT A FUCKING KILLING MACHINE, HUH?"

Autumn felt enraged, and so very conflicted. Confused wasn't even the right word to describe it. He started out feeling sorry for Jill because of her harsh past, and now he wants to punch the woman in the face for caring about a machine that caused destruction and chaos for those in the world… Though he was still confused about elements like this Deity Novagod and Callous and powers… he was still fixated on the fact that Jill wasn't traumatized by the machine…

…it was as if they made friends and Jill ignored the fact that he was a horrible machine created by a mad scientist.

"HOW COULD ANYONE CARE ABOUT A MONSTER LIKE METAL SONIC?" he screamed, throwing his fists down on the ground again. He was just about ready to fall apart. "…and they're all protecting that truth from the world…why…?" two tears hit the ground. "…why…would my mother and sister have to die for a truth that no one knows about…?"

After a short while, a shadow suddenly covered Autumn; someone was looking down at him. "...hey."

Autumn hurriedly rubbed his tears away, and looked up.

Then his eyes widened. "…you…you're…"

"...what are you doing out here?" The being in question was cloaked and wore a large hat, which mostly hid his appearance. Judging from what Autumn could see, he was a wolf of sorts. The most notable feature, however, was the large rifle he had hoisted on his back.

Even if most of his features were hidden, the figure was still recognized by Autumn. "…you're…Lock the Sniper…" he muttered. "…you're a famous bounty hunter…"

"...hmph." Lock hummed, as he adjusted the brim of his hat a little. "...enough about me. Why are you roaming the wasteland all on your own?" he inquired.

Autumn was quiet while he looked back at the diary he threw down onto the ground. "…I was…looking for…"

Before Autumn could finish his sentence, Lock picked up the diary, and flipped through some of its pages. "...hm."

Autumn gasped. "Wait! That's-!"

After a while, Lock simply closed the diary. "...so... out looking for Metal Sonic?" he assumed, before he handed it back to Autumn.

"…wha? How'd you-?" Autumn was astonished while he took the diary.

"It'd be the only thing anyone would be looking for if they came to this part of the wasteland, aside from treasure or the like." Lock explained. "And you don't seem like a treasure hunter to me."

"…right…" Autumn muttered, looking down onto the ground.

"...so... do you need a guide?" Lock eventually asked.

Autumn looked up at him, wide eyed. "…really?"

"Sure." Lock shrugged. "I'm headed in that direction, anyway, so getting to Metropolis shouldn't take too long."

Autumn blinked. Then he stood up. "…let's go then…"

"Right." Nodding, Lock headed off in a certain direction. "Don't fall behind."

Autumn followed. _You think I'd fall behind after that?_

* * *

><p>Soon, the two of them made it. Metropolis was a huge, very run down city, and though Autumn had never been here before, he recognized it from all over the news. They searched here once, and didn't even find a single trace of Metal Sonic here…<p>

…but Autumn knew better than that. Autumn knew that Metal Sonic must have made himself scarce somehow so they wouldn't find him.

"…you wouldn't happen to know exactly where he is, would you?" Autumn asked Lock.

"...not exactly." Lock mused, before he glanced at Autumn. "...by the way." And he suddenly tossed the moth a pistol. "Bandits roam about in different parts of town, looking for treasure... better be prepared, if they try anything."

"…uh…r-right!" Autumn muttered, holding the diary close to him. "…but I think I know where to start looking at least," and his eyes turned to the large tower that stood in the middle of the city; the one that was obviously built by Eggman when he was still alive. Gritting his teeth, he took off toward the tower in flight.

Humming, Lock just casually followed him.

Autumn slipped through a crack in the tower, and from there he flew up the stairs. Years of hate and anger started boiling up in him. _…this is it; I _know_ that I'm going to find him up here!_ Autumn thought, clutching the diary. _Mom…Summer… both your deaths will be avenged; I will make sure of that!_

Soon he made it to a doorway that was partially open. He stopped by it and kicked it open, aiming the gun. "Metal Sonic!" he shouted. "I'm here to…?"

Only…he stopped in his tracks when he got a good look at what was in front of him.

There, lying on a bed, was a blue hedgehog, fast asleep. To an untrained eye, this could very well have been _the_ Sonic the Hedgehog, but the outfit, the cybernetic eye and the robotic leg told a different story.

Autumn was utterly speechless as this sight…and he was so shocked that he dropped both the gun and the diary. Surely this had to be some kind of trick?

Slowly, the hedgehog turned a bit in his sleep; gritting his teeth as if he struggled with something.

Autumn had no idea what to do. All that hate and anger that built up earlier had shattered, leaving him blank and unable to really do anything except gawk at this hedgehog.

Eventually, the hedgehog stopped moving... and his cybernetic eye slowly came to life, whilst his other eye slowly opened up.

Autumn gasped, and he finally moved again, quickly grabbing the gun to point at the hedgehog. "Don't move!" he yelled.

The hedgehog stopped, as he just looked back at Autumn.

"…what kind of trick is this?" Autumn uttered, gritting his teeth. Then he looked around the room. "Metal Sonic! Is this some illusion? Where are you? SHOW YOURSELF!"

Eventually, the hedgehog just rose from the bed; looking straight at the distressed moth. "...there's no need." he said, before placing a hand on his chest. "...I am Metal Sonic."

"LIAR!" Autumn screamed at him, holding the gun at him shakily. "I know what Metal Sonic looks like! He's the killing machine that sent his robots through Westopolis and killed my mother and sister!"

"...is that so?" the hedgehog hummed, as he slowly began approaching Autumn. "...I didn't realize that there were casualties that day."

"Don't MOVE!" Autumn yelled, putting his finger on the trigger. "…what I don't understand is…how someone could even care for a monster like you…"

And the hedgehog stopped. "...come again?" he uttered, narrowing his eyes.

"…so what did you do to that woman…Metal Sonic?" Autumn growled. "…you brainwashed her somehow, didn't you?" Then he pointed to the diary. "There's no way in hell anyone could write that garbage about you…"

Metal's eyes widened a bit, as he looked at the diary. "...where did you get that?"

"And why would you think I'd tell you that?" yelled Autumn.

At that point, Metal glared at Autumn with a deadly stare. "...because I believe that you stole that from a friend of mine." he hissed.

Autumn paused a minute. _…what did he just say…?_

"...now answer me."

In an instant, Metal had suddenly snatched Autumn by the throat, and slammed him against the wall. "Where did you get that book?"

Autumn was so startled by that he dropped the gun. "…f-f-from their C-clubh-house!" he uttered.

"How?" Metal yelled again. "Did you hurt any of them? _Well?_"

"I'd _never _hurt kids like them!" Autumn snarled back at Metal. "And why the hell are you acting like you even _care?"_

"Because they're her friends!" Metal yelled back at Autumn.

"…you don't care about her…" Autumn growled. "…you used her…"

"...what the hell do _you_ know about that?" At that point, Metal aimed a fierce punch right at Autumn's face; actually denting the wall behind the moth.

Autumn's head fell just a bit limp weakly, feeling blood run out of his nose.

"...you couldn't possibly know whether or not I used her; something I did _not_ do whatsoever!" Metal kept yelling. "She was the only one who could stop that monster from running wild... and she... _she..._" As he spoke, he kept grasping Autumn's throat out of anger. Autumn only choked, unable to respond at all to Metal's reaction; mainly because he was still too shocked that Metal Sonic was actually showing…emotion.

Eventually, Metal just let go of Autumn, as he stumbled back a bit. "...ngh..." he grunted, turning away so only his cybernetic eye was visible. It seemed like he was suppressing the urge to... cry. Autumn gasped a bit, catching his breath…but he continued to gawk at Metal.

"...you've read the diary, so... I'm sure you have questions." Metal murmured. "About a lot of things."

"…I've…I've only glanced at bits and pieces…" Autumn muttered, rubbing his throat. "…but what I really want to know is…what really happened…? Why did you disappear…?"

Metal remained silent, as he eventually walked towards a computer console. "...I've done some recordings in the past; hoping to study them in order to counter him... but I gave up on that a while ago." Then, he turned it on. "What I'm about to show you can never be told to anyone. Do you understand that?"

"…cross my heart…hope to die…" Autumn muttered with a gulp.

"...good." With that, Metal brought up a video file. "Watch this."

Autumn stumbled closer toward the screen, at first seeing nothing… and then he jumped when a vicious looking version of Metal Sonic jumped out at him. "AGH!" This version looked horrible grotesque, with black goo oozing out of him and whatnot…

…and there was the other Metal in the flesh, fighting him off.

The battles were gruesome to Autumn; he had never really seen anything like them before…

"...I picked one where he shows up." Metal murmured. "He should appear right about..."

The vicious creature pinned Metal Sonic down, and when Metal Sonic looked over, Autumn's eyes widened.

A vampire bat stood there, dressed in very old fashioned garb and his long white hair was wrapped up in a pony tail at the end. Autumn didn't know why, but when he saw those icy purple eyes, he shuddered a bit.

"How long can you last, Metal Sonic?" and hearing him speak only made Autumn shudder even more.

"...as long as it takes..." the Metal Sonic in the video uttered, as he suddenly created a blade formed from dark-green energy. "...even to the end of time itself!" With that, he aimed a vertical slice at the monster.

The monster screeched and backed away.

"…so you would fight me the rest of your life?" the bat remarked. "…such a heavy sacrifice that you took for her, wasn't it?"

"…sacrifice?" Autumn muttered.

Metal remained silent, as he just watched the video.

"...it's worth it... as long as she doesn't have to suffer the rest of her life with you within her." Metal replied to the bat, before he aimed a thrust right at the monster's gut.

The monster let out a screech, melting all over Metal…

…then the video cut out.

Autumn stood there, silently, turning to him.

"...you may ask away." Metal murmured, as he glanced away from Autumn.

"…that was…that was Deity Novagod, right?" Autumn uttered. "That was the Deity Novagod that she was talking about in the diary?"

"...yes." Metal nodded, as he folded his arms.

"…what sacrifice were you two talking about?" Autumn uttered.

"...you recall the last transmission I made before I vanished?" Metal hummed.

Autumn clenched his fists. "…all too well…"

"...there was a reason why I made that transmission; to ensure that no one would even think of seeking me out when I vanished." Metal spoke. "...that girl you read about... Jill..." Then, he sighed. "...to make a long story short... she died in battle against Callous; whilst trying to save my life, no less."

Autumn's eyes widened.

…_no way…she died…? And to save him? But…but she's still there! And with a daughter no less! And how the hell did she fight a witch that was inside her?_ It only made it so much more confusing for Autumn to try and figure out, but he kept silent in case Metal had more to say.

"...we had trained for an entire week for that confrontation..." Metal murmured. "...I was more than willing to die, just so Jill could defeat Callous and go on to vanquish Novagod..." Then, he grit his teeth. "...I was distraught... I could only think of two things; getting revenge for her death... and how unfair it was, for her to sacrifice herself for a killing machine such as I..."

…_this…isn't just an act…right?_ Autumn thought in awe. _…he…actually thought it was unfair…? …and…he actually wanted to seek out revenge for her?_

"...after making the transmission, I prepared to sever all ties to anyone else." Metal murmured. "I even resorted to lying right in front of her friends; saying that I had killed her, in cold blood." Then, he held his head. "...both to make sure that they wouldn't miss me if I perished... and to delude myself into thinking that she hadn't sacrificed herself for me." After that, he closed his eyes. "...but... something happened that no one could predict."

…_wow…even _he_ didn't believe it? _Autumn wondered. "…what happened next?"

"...the week I had spent with Jill, along with constant exposure to Purity, Corruption and Unity... changed me." Metal murmured. "From a machine... into a living, breathing Mobian."

Autumn looked at Metal up and down again, still wide eyed. "…ruh…really?" He remembered reading about Purity in the diary, seeing that was a type of power… and perhaps Corruption and Unity must have been other powers…

…all in all though… it was Jill who changed Metal Sonic… it was apparent to Autumn finally that Metal was not trying to play him in any way… and if those powers changed Metal to look like this, then they must have been powerful.

"...the shock of it all caused me to fall into a state of depression." Metal murmured. "...but, eventually, her friends found out that they could resurrect Jill; as her and Callous' souls weren't joined when they both perished."

"…wait…so Jill and Callous were originally two separate beings?" Autumn asked.

"...it's a long story... but yes." Metal nodded. "Novagod created Callous with a part of Jill's soul; explaining why Callous died when Jill died, as their souls were connected." Then, he folded his arms. "In any case... they needed me to bring Jill back, as I possessed the only force that could reunite them; namely, Unity."

Autumn started to understand a bit now… but he blinked with his wide eyes. "…you mean…_you_ brought her back to life?"

Metal Sonic of all people, brought back that woman to life?

"...yes." Metal nodded. "I was aided by Milo, but... channeling Unity, I placed her united soul into her body." Then, he closed his eyes. "...but I'm not getting to the point. After Jill was resurrected, we began planning for the final battle against Novagod; and it was a long and brutal battle... which would culminate with me and Jill both attaining a Super stage, and battling Novagod on our own."

Autumn grew silent with anticipation.

"In the end, it seemed like we won; though at a price." Metal lowered his head a little. "...Novagod stole Jill's voice; rendering her absolutely mute. We didn't manage to retrieve it before we defeated him... and then..."

…_she became a mute…because of Novagod…_ "…and then?" Autumn uttered.

"...Novagod resurfaced. Immediately afterwards," Metal hissed.

"…what?" Autumn uttered.

"No one could explain why... but I have a certain theory; Novagod simply will. Not. Give. Up. Even when all odds are against him..." Metal murmured. "...eventually, Jill intended to finish it once and for all... by absorbing him into her own body."

"...I... couldn't let her do it. Not after she had literally gone through hell to get that far."

Autumn figured it out.

"…so…you absorbed him into you instead…" he uttered. "…_that _was the sacrifice you were talking about…"

"...yes." Metal nodded. "And every night, ever since that fateful battle... he has tormented me; trying to break me from within..." He grit his teeth. "...all so he can try to get at Jill once more... but I won't let him do as he pleases. Never again."

"…first…she was the one that stopped you…" Autumn uttered. "…and now…you're here fighting Novagod for her sake…?"

Autumn slumped against the wall; still trying to believe it. "…I can't believe it…all this time you were…"

"...hard to believe it, right?" Metal hummed.

Autumn shut his eyes for tears to roll down. "…now you've gone and made my revenge seem so… bitter…"

"...revenge?" Metal hummed. "Right... you probably hate me, for the death of your family..."

"…I…I hated you for years…I spent those years of my life looking for you…" Autumn uttered. "…I…I felt so angry…"

Metal glanced back at Autumn, remaining silent.

"…I wasted those years…angry at someone who only started to suffer as much as I did… maybe more…" Autumn picked himself up, took up the gun and the diary, and ambled toward the door. "…I'll…just go… so I don't have to waste your time anymore…"

"...wait." Before he could leave, Metal set a hand on Autumn's shoulder. "...I doubt it would make amends, but... you have my condolences... and... I'm sorry for what happened."

Autumn was ready to just burst, and he threw his hand on his face to try and keep himself from doing so. He couldn't believe what just came out of Metal's mouth…

"...whether or not you forgive me is up to you." Metal sighed, before he moved his hand away from Autumn. "Just... keep this a secret from anyone else, would you?" Then, he walked towards the bed. "...farewell..."

Autumn was still somewhat frozen there, but he took one last glance back at Metal, and then left.

* * *

><p>Back outside, Lock simply stood outside of the tower, looking up at the crack in the tower.<p>

Autumn eventually made it back down, stumbling his way out of the entrance of the tower and he stopped to look at Lock.

"...did you find out what you needed?" Lock hummed.

"…yeah…" muttered Autumn. "…but…I think there's still some of it that I want to know…"

He slowly looked up, still holding back tears. "…if Metal Sonic went through that…just what did Jill go through…?"

"...hm..." Lock hummed, folding his arms. "...she went through a lot." he eventually hummed. "I'm not too clear on the details, myself; they never really indulged me about that..."

"…so you knew the whole time…" Autumn looked down at the ground again, letting a few tears fall to the ground. "…that's why none of you stopped me from finding him… you knew what I'd find out…"

"...you could say that we all made an oath after Metal absorbed Novagod." Lock began, as he placed a hand on his hat. "To keep what had happened to Jill, Metal, and all of us a secret from the outside world. One of the reasons being that Jill didn't want any large amount of attention regarding her battle, and another reason... well, it's Metal Sonic we're talking about."

"…how many people were involved in all of this…?" Autumn uttered.

"...quite a few." Lock hummed, adjusting his hat a bit. "Myself included, there's Jill and her friends, Metal Sonic, the Chaotix, a few GUN agents, King and his comrades- you know, the same one in charge of Safe Haven- and not to mention Miles Prower, Charmy the Bee, Jet the Hawk, his grandchildren... I could go on."

Autumn looked up at Lock, and then he offered the gun back. "…I won't be needing this…"

Giving Autumn a nod, Lock took the gun back. "...so... where are you headed, now?"

"…back where I need to be…" Autumn muttered vaguely. Then he took off into the air. "…see you sometime again… Lock the Sniper."

"...same to you." Lock hummed, as he glanced up at Autumn flying off.

* * *

><p>Autumn was just barely cutting it; he could start seeing the sun rising while he saw Safe Haven in the distance.<p>

After what he learned today… he had no idea what to do… he didn't even feel right handing the diary to Raider, but Raider at least promised to give it back once he was done. After that, he'd take it back to the boys at the Clubhouse… and from there, he'd figure out what to do.

As he flew closer, he happened to notice a figure lying on the ground he was headed towards; namely, Morrigan.

Autumn blinked. "…huh…?" and he flew towards her.

From a distance, she seemed to be sleeping, but as it turned out, she was looking right up at the sky; a thoughtful look on her.

Autumn landed nearby, and cautiously, he stepped toward her. "…Morrigan?"

"...oh, Autumn." With that, Morrigan sat up, glancing at him whilst adjusting her glasses. "What is it?"

Autumn looked down at the diary in his hands. "…nothing…" Then he looked at Morrigan. "What're you doing out here?"

"...I've found that I simply can't sleep in my room over at the barracks." Morrigan hummed, as she adjusted her glasses. "It's a nice room, but... for some reason, I find that I simply cannot sleep whilst in that bed. I intend to find some different quarters later, but for the night, the grass worked out nicely."

Autumn blinked some more.

"Yeah, weird, I know," added a voice, which stole Autumn's attention. Raider walked out, and when he saw the diary in Autumn's hand, he smirked. "Looks like you were successful…"

Autumn glared at him and then looked away. "…yeah…"

Standing up, Morrigan adjusted her glasses again whilst eying the newcomer. "...and you are?" she inquired.

"Raider," he bluntly replied. "Like you, Morrigan, I observe others and gain info about them. Unfortunately I can't hypnotize anyone… although I'll admit that I wish I could…"

"…you said you would hand the diary back, once you were done, right?" Autumn asked.

"Yeah, sure…" Raider grunted. "…now you gonna hand it over?"

Autumn glared back at him.

Morrigan looked back at Autumn with a hum, adjusting her glasses again. "...what is this all about?" she hummed. "Does it have something to do with you being absent from the island for the past hours?"

"…yeah…it does," Autumn answered, still glaring at Raider.

Then he held out the diary. "Take damn good care of that thing…otherwise, you won't just have me to answer to…"

When Raider took it, he shot a puzzled look at Autumn. "…what's with you?"

"…I found out what I wanted to know…but it wasn't what I expected at all…" Autumn muttered, turning around and walking away. "…I expect to see you again Raider when you're done…"

Raider just stood there in confusion, watching Autumn leave.

"...hmm." Morrigan hummed in intrigue, adjusting her glasses a little. "Curious..."

"…well, I got what I wanted," chuckled Raider, going to walk off as well. "Better check it out."

Glancing at Raider, Morrigan narrowed her eyes. _...there's a number of suspicious characters on the island..._ she thought, as she adjusted her glasses. ..._I suppose getting to know some of them would be in my best interests._ With that, she walked off.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's how Raider knows everything in 5YL.<strong>_


	16. Chapter 16

Letting out a brief yawn, a certain pig wandered through the woods, rubbing his neck. "...a bit too early for my tastes, but... I guess it has to be done." he mused to himself, as he eventually stopped walking.

As he looked ahead of him, he saw a large cave, which seemed abandoned at first glance. With a light chuckle, he approached the cave's mouth. "...Oblivion! You in there?" he called.

Oblivion awoke with a startled gasp, but when she realized what was going on, she calmed down a bit. First she glanced over at the sleeping Charon beside her, who slept through Spiel's call. He looked more at peace than Oblivion's ever really seen before… and she couldn't help but smile.

"…yeah! I'm here!" she called, getting up and wandering toward the mouth of the cave.

"Good to see ya." Spiel hummed with a chuckle, giving her a nod. "Now, I just wanted you to know; even though you've got Charon sleeping in the cave, you've got to be able to attend the training program, which I've heard starts earlier than last year." Then, he yawned. "And I'm not exactly one to rise and shine early, just so you won't rely on me to wake up every day." Then, he began walking ahead. "Come on; first we'll get you some grub, and then it's off to train."

Oblivion blinked, and then she looked back at Charon worriedly. _…I have to train…?_ She thought.

"...don't worry about Charon; no one comes around here anyway." Spiel chuckled. "Now come on; they're gonna get suspicious if you don't show up."

"…alright…" Oblivion murmured, turning to walk with Spiel.

As he walked, Spiel glanced back at Oblivion. "...so, you got any future plans?" he inquired.

Oblivion glanced at Spiel… then she just looked ahead. "…taking care of Charon is my only plans…"

"...but you can't stay here with him indefinitely." Spiel noted.

"…there's nowhere else out there for him, Spiel…" Oblivion murmured. "…and…there's nowhere for me either…"

"...is that so..." Spiel hummed, rubbing his chin. "...you really sure about that? Nothing else left for any of ya?"

"…I would know…" Oblivion replied, closing her eyes. "…considering the countless memories I had to erase…"

Spiel stopped.

"...what was that, now?"

Oblivion covered her mouth with a gasp, realizing what she just let out. "I-I mean…uh…"

"...no, go on; tell me what you're talking about."

"…n-no…I mustn't…" Oblivion uttered. Then she started off. "I have to go!"

But before she could get ahead of Spiel, he grabbed her arm. "Whoa, there; no need to hurry." he said. "Go on; tell me what you meant."

"No! Let me go!" Oblivion uttered fearfully, struggling.

"For crying out..." Spiel groaned, before he spun her around and looked at her. "Listen, I'm not gonna tell anyone, so would you just tell me what the hell your deal is?"

Oblivion stared at Spiel silently.

"...well?" Spiel hummed. "Go on; no one's around."

"…I…I have this unexplained power to be able to erase the memories of others," Oblivion answered.

"...is that right?" Spiel hummed. "How'd ya discover it?"

"…when I was a little girl…" Oblivion murmured. "…I never really told anyone about it, and when I did… well… let's just say they didn't remember it anymore… I always caused a lot of trouble so I used my powers to protect myself and protect others from me."

"...hm." Spiel hummed, as he folded his arms.

"…I don't use it all the time though…" Oblivion muttered. "…erasing their memories means that I have to see them…and…I see a lot of things I wish I hadn't."

"...I see..." Spiel hummed with a nod. "...so, now that you've told me, are you gonna erase my memories as well? Or would that be an inconvenience?"

"…so far…you're the only one that's actually helped me and Charon," Oblivion muttered. "…and you would be too strong for me to be able to erase your memories anyway…"

"Is that right?" Spiel chuckled. "Well, not to worry; your secret stays with me."

Oblivion looked at Spiel to some doubt… and worry.

"...what? Can't trust a swine like myself?" Spiel chuckled, as he patted his own belly. "You don't have to be shy; just say it outright if I'm scaring ya."

"…you scare me a little," Oblivion said. "…but you aren't the first that I don't trust. I hardly trust anyone except Charon…"

"...I guess that's understandable." Spiel nodded with a chuckle. "Well, I'm sure you'll learn to open up eventually. Now come along; I bet you're starving." With that, he began walking again.

Oblivion followed him, still throwing a glance back toward where the cave was. _I hope he's right about the fact that no one wanders over there…_ she thought.

* * *

><p>Training that day started off; all of the soldiers pumped with plenty of energy to start the day.<p>

Autumn, meanwhile, gave a moderate effort. His thoughts were still on what he found out… not to mention he didn't get any sleep, so he didn't have that much energy to spare.

"...hey, Autumn, what's the matter?" At that point, Autumn was approached by Guts, who had just finished a few rounds of running and brawling. "You seem all worn out already."

"…I didn't…get any sleep…" huffed Autumn.

"Really?" Guts hummed, before he chuckled. "Getting anxious to start so early? That's a good thing; it shows that you're ready to take on any challenge!"

"…it's not that…"

Finally, Autumn just couldn't hold himself up anymore and he collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing that, Guts' eyes widened. "Whoa!" Quickly, he kneeled down by Autumn. "Dude, are you okay?"

"…can't…move…" Autumn muttered weakly.

"...geez..." Grunting, Guts decided to help Autumn up on his feet. "Don't faint on me or anything. I'll take you to the infirmary so you can get some rest."

"…right…" Autumn just couldn't move; he was so exhausted.

"Alright; let's go." With that, Guts began carrying Autumn off; headed towards the infirmary. Autumn managed as much as stumbling along with Guts, but by the time they finally got to the infirmary, Autumn just about passed out.

"Ah- damn!" Gritting, Guts barged right into the infirmary; something that startled the one who was waiting inside, Miser. "Hey, this guy's outta energy! Think he can rest here?"

"Uh- of course!" Miser nodded. "Quick, take him to a bed!"

Guts nodded in return, before he helped Autumn over to one of the beds; placing the moth on it so he could sleep.

Finally, Autumn felt more at peace, and while lying on the bed, he dozed off.

"...what happened, exactly?" Miser uttered, as she glanced at Guts.

"I dunno..." Guts murmured, rubbing his head. "He said that he couldn't get any sleep yesterday, but... I don't think that makes ya just faint from exhaustion." Then, he shrugged. "I should know; I've skipped sleeping to train without fainting lots of times."

"...you're sure that's not just you?" Miser blinked, before she looked back at Autumn. "In any case, he just seems to be fatigued. He should recover his energy in a few hours."

"Miser, what happened?" Both Ani and Sonia walked into the infirmary then. "We saw them passing by."

"...apparently, Autumn fainted during his training because of a lack of sleep." Miser noted.

"Lack of sleep?" Sonia blinked, as she looked back at Autumn. "Weird... why would he have trouble sleeping?"

"He didn't say..." Guts murmured, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"...hm." Grabbing a chair, Sonia sat herself down next to Autumn; looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and worriedness.

"…he was having trouble sleeping?" Ani remembered hearing something like that yesterday, when Autumn was talking to Caitlin and her new Grandpa Bruno.

"I guess; he was pretty vague about it..." Guts hummed.

"...I suppose we could just ask him why when he wakes up." Sonia reasoned.

"…Yeah, I suppose…" Ani muttered, although she had a suspecting feeling why Autumn wasn't getting very much sleep…

"...well, all we can do is wait for him to wake up." Miser noted.

Eventually, Autumn finally and slowly opened his eyes, blinking. "…where am I?" he muttered.

"Infirmary," Ani replied. "You passed out during training."

"…did I?" Autumn muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Yep." Guts nodded. "You made me jump a little, too..."

"...lack of sleep, was it?" Sonia hummed. "That's what we were told, anyway."

"…right, yeah…" Autumn replied tiredly.

"And just _why _weren't you sleeping well, Autumn?" Ani asked a bit suspiciously, folding her arms.

Autumn fell silent after that.

"...well?" Sonia hummed, folding her arms as well. "Did you run into some trouble, or what?"

Both Miser and Guts just blinked, as they looked from Ani and Sonia to Autumn.

"…first night…it was a nightmare…" Autumn muttered. "…about your friend, Jill…and her red eyes…"

Miser and Sonia briefly shuddered upon hearing that.

"...red eyes?" Guts blinked.

"…not only did it scare me… but it made me curious…" Autumn muttered, swallowing. "…so I spent all of last night on a personal investigation…"

"WHAT?" screamed Ani angrily.

"Excuse me?" Sonia yelled as well, as she quickly shot up from her seat.

"WHOA!" Guts sputtered; panicked at seeing both Ani and Sonia react so angrily. "Did I just miss something?"

The only one who didn't seem to react was Miser, as she just looked at Autumn.

Autumn shut his eyes… and they suddenly saw a tear roll down his face. "…and once I found everything out…all I could think of was what an ignorant, selfish bastard I was…"

"...huh...?" Sonia blinked.

"…I had invaded into a very troubling past…one that I still can't really comprehend…" Autumn muttered.

Ani still frowned. "…now see why we tried to hide it from everybody?" she grumbled.

"…yeah…I see now…" Autumn muttered.

"...hrm..." Letting out a sigh, Sonia sat down again; leaving a certain silence in the room.

"…I think you'll owe Jill an apology when you get rested up then," Ani replied.

Autumn's eyes popped open at that, looking at Ani in shock.

"...sounds fair, if you ask me." Miser noted with a slight nod.

"…yeah I….I guess I could understand that…" murmured Autumn, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"...well, once training's over, you can go and apologize to her." Sonia mused with a nod.

"…right…" muttered Autumn.

"So for now, just rest up, okay?" Miser sighed. "Someone would get worried if you faint again."

"I certainly did..." Guts remarked a bit sheepishly.

* * *

><p>Later on, the training for the day ended, and Hunter was on his way to the pub through the jungle.<p>

"...hey, kiddo!" At that point, someone came running up behind him, and threw her arm around his shoulder. "Where're you off to?" It was Caitlin, who gave Hunter a wide grin.

"Oh, Caitlin; I'm just heading back to the pub," Hunter replied.

"Is that so?" Caitlin hummed, letting go of Hunter in the process. "Well, you wouldn't mind escorting an old lady over there, then?" she added with a brief chuckle.

"I wouldn't mind," Hunter chuckled; "Although I'd have to admit that you don't seem so old…"

"Well, I'm not exactly in my prime, either." Caitlin chuckled jokingly. "But I'm still kicking!"

"…so much energy…" Hunter murmured, looking ahead on his path. "…just like King…"

"...but man..." Caitlin hummed, as she closed her eyes. "...to think that I'd see two family reunions all in the same morning... you must be happy, right, kiddo?"

"…yeah, I'm actually pretty glad to see that I still have family…" Hunter muttered in reply. "…I thought that I didn't have any family for a long time… only King, and Sage, and the others were considered my family, though when I first met them it was a different story…"

"...really, now..." Caitlin hummed, before she let out a brief sigh. "...now I'm starting to get all nostalgic; hearing about the past..."

"…oh yeah?" Hunter said, looking back at her.

"...yup." Caitlin nodded. "I don't usually talk about the past that much..." Then, she dug her hand into her pocket, before she took out a small pendant; which had a crown motif. "...usually not a lot to talk about in regards to the past, to begin with..."

"…is that so?" Hunter muttered, looking at the pendant.

"Yeah..." Caitlin hummed, before she let out another sigh. "...goodness... it's been a while since I've thought to back then, hasn't it...?"

"…what happened?" Hunter asked.

"...well... it's not a happy story." Caitlin sighed. "This pendant... I remember giving it to my own son, way back when. It was a lucky charm; meant to protect him if he ever came upon trouble." Then she smiled a slight, wry smile. "...I may be a reckless woman, but I at least tried being a good influence on him."

"Right…" Hunter chuckled.

"...so, one day, my son and his father decide to go hiking for the weekend." Caitlin continued. "My husband was always the kind of guy that liked climbing higher than he really needed to. I wasn't too much of a fan of hiking myself; always been a bit afraid of heights... but the two of them really enjoyed climbing any mountain they got the chance to ascend."

Then, her smile fell. "...when the weekend ended, however... they didn't come back."

"…really?" muttered Hunter.

"...at first, I thought they had just decided to stay a bit longer; they did that from time to time, you see..." Caitlin murmured. "...but days passed, and there wasn't a single sigh that they were returning home." She rubbed her arm a little. "...I got scared, for probably the first time in my life, and I did everything I could to try and find them. I organized search squads, I notified the authorities, I even sucked up my own phobia just to climb that damn mountain to find them..."

"...but all I found was this." And she looked solemnly at the pendant again.

"…so…you didn't find either of them," muttered Hunter.

"...no..." Caitlin murmured. "...I tried convincing myself that they were still alive, but... it's been decades." Then, she sighed. "Whatever hope I had back then is all but gone at this point..."

"…I'm sorry to hear that," Hunter murmured.

"...oh, there I went." Caitlin eventually mused with a slight chuckle. "This old lady probably made you feel a bit uncomfortable, huh?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Hunter replied. "We've all had some skeletons in our closet…"

"...I suppose that makes sense." Caitlin shrugged. "So, just to lift the mood, how about I buy ya a couple of rounds? Does that sound alright, kiddo?" she eventually chuckled.

Hunter scratched his head. "I'm not sure if I should drink this early in the day," he chuckled nervously.

"...well, if that's the case..." Caitlin hummed, as she rubbed her chin. "...I wonder if Bruno's at the pub, then..."

"I heard him say he was heading there, so I'm sure he is," Hunter replied.

"Oh, really?" Caitlin chuckled. "Maybe he would be more willing to chug down a few free drinks..."

"Probably," chuckled Hunter in return.

"Alright; then let's hurry over there!" With that, Caitlin began breaking into a run ahead of Hunter; towards the pub.

Hunter shook his head. "Those two…" and then he thought to himself out loud. "…King had a similar story to that; hiking with his dad…if Bruno's my Dad, then Caitlin's gotta be King's mom, but the two of them are too oblivious to make the connection."

He laughed softly to himself. "Oh yeah…definitely King's mom…"

Then he looked up at the sky. "…you know? I wonder if it actually says something in our files? It might actually talk about our parents…"

He hurried after Caitlin. "Hey! Wait up for me! I gotta open the place after all!"

"Sure!" Caitlin called back to Hunter.

* * *

><p>"May! May there you are!" uttered Fae, breathing more easily. "May you missed the first day of training!"<p>

"Oh…I did…?" May muttered. "I didn't realize I was out for that long…"

"Where were you anyway?" Fae asked.

"I found a soldier to party with, and we partied one night before…then we decided to party all of last night too, so I was exhausted," May replied, wiping her brow.

Fae shook her head. "Silly! You can't party 24/7 here, or you'll never get the training that you need done!"

"Yeah, I know sis," May murmured. "…so, that old Queen wasn't too hard on you, was she?"

"No, she was great!" giggled Fae. "And all the soldiers were really nice to me and they made sure not to hurt me!"

"…you sure they weren't just avoiding you?" chuckled May.

Fae got defensive. "I'm not annoying or anything like that!"

"...that could be up for debate, but I won't say anything." At that point, someone approached the two flamingo sisters, adjusting her glasses a bit. "So, how are you two doing?" Morrigan inquired, glancing at the two sisters.

"I'm doing alright," May replied.

"Oh! Oh! Did you guys hear?" Fae asked excitedly.

"No, what?" May muttered, rolling her eyes. She figured Fae was going to start on another rumor she found out.

"Poor Autumn collapsed during training today! I heard King talking about it with Queen!" Fae remarked.

"...Autumn collapsed, did he...?" Morrigan hummed; narrowing her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "...hm."

"Yeah; apparently he's not sleeping well!" Fae muttered. "I feel so bad for him!"

"...why is that?" Morrigan hummed. "From what I've observed, you've barely said a word to him."

"Uh-huh too I've said a word to him!" Fae insisted. "I introduced myself to him, didn't I? I told him my name! That's more than 'a word'!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't exactly qualify getting to know him," May added. "…although I'm curious…would you happen to know why Autumn's not getting any sleep Morrigan?"

"...I'm not the kind to spread rumors and theories about." Morrigan hummed, as she adjusted her glasses again. "Though if you dare, I would ask a gentleman called Raider about it. I wouldn't recommend it, though; he seems like a hefty handful."

"…Raider huh?" May murmured, rubbing her chin.

"He sounds scary!" gasped Fae, hiding behind May.

"Oh…he's not the one to be afraid of…"

The flamingo sisters blinked, and when they looked, they saw a group of four mobians heading toward them. "There's plenty of other soldiers you should really look out for," said Seymour, folding his arms.

"…really?" asked Fae.

"You better believe it." Marco huffed, shaking his head.

"...and just who are you four?" Morrigan hummed. "I don't think I've seen you around, before."

"Because you didn't look for us." Will scoffed, before he cracked his neck.

"…but who are you still?" May said. "We asked a question and you didn't really answer it…"

"...feh." With a scoff, Will folded his arms. "I'm Will, and these guys are Marco, Ed and Seymour."

"What's wrong? You guys all look mad!" Fae pointed out.

"…don't ask about it…just don't," Seymour muttered. _…god this girl is annoying…_

"I'm not mad," Ed said with a small smile.

"Shut it Ed…" Seymour grumbled.

"You're not helping our image." Marco huffed.

"...you're supposed to have an image?" Morrigan hummed dryly, as she adjusted her glasses. "Sorry; I wasn't aware about that."

With a slight huff, Will looked at them. "...so, you think Raider's the one to watch out for? You got no idea what's in store for you around here."

"Yeah; some of the ones you gotta watch out for are Spiel and Hex," Seymour added.

May's eyes shot toward Seymour curiously when she heard the name Hex, but she remained silent.

"…who're they?" Fae asked curiously.

"...Spiel is practically destruction incarnate." Will hummed. "No matter who you are, he will _end_ you if you get on his wrong side... which is likely going to happen no matter what."

"And Hex..." Marco shuddered. "...trust me when I say that _no one_ would wanna spend time with Hex, unless they had a serious death wish."

"...sound exaggerated." Morrigan hummed. "Aren't you just spreading slander?" she added, as she adjusted her glasses.

"No, we're being serious! You have to stay away from those two no matter what!" Marco called.

"Yeah, I'm with Morrigan on this one; I think those two probably aren't that bad," May replied.

"But they sure sound really scary to me!" Fae threw in.

"They are!" agreed Ed.

"...do you have proof?" Morrigan inquired.

"...hn?" Will blinked.

"Proof." Morrigan repeated. "Facts. Conclusive evidence. That sort of thing." Then, she sighed. "If it's one thing I can't stand, it's when someone just comes up with baseless theories... at least be able to prove what you're talking about before you flap your gums about it."

"...flap our- lady, we're giving you a serious warning, here!" Marco protested.

"C'mon Fae," yawned May. "Let's go before they blow a blood vessel or something…"

"But May, that would be painful for them…"

May didn't know why… but that kind of voice sent shivers down her spine.

"EEP!" Both Fae and Ed yelped and hid behind her, looking back. "It's Diablo!"

"Well well…what do we have here?" the leopard was standing there with a psychotic grin.

And right behind the leopard was a small owl, who giggled mischievously to herself.

"...more surprises..." Morrigan hummed, narrowing her eyes. "Who are you two?" she sighed.

"...listen; you do _not_ wanna get on his bad side." Will gulped, as he looked back at them. "Diablo... he's not someone to cross, alright..."

"Why's that?" May asked, blinking at the two of them.

"...oh, don't be afraid; we won't hurt you." the owl said with a slight giggle. "We'll just play with you... doesn't that sound like fun? We can all have a grand time seeing you gasp for breath as your life slowly spills out of your body..." And she giggled again.

"..._that's_ why." Will gulped.

Though slightly put off by that answer, Morrigan simply adjusted her glasses. "...glad to see that even psychopaths come to this island." she noted with a sense of dryness in her tone.

"Oh, c'mon…I'm sure my little sister isn't that bad once you get to know her," Diablo chuckled, stepping closer to them.

"Hey…don't do that, you're really creeping us out," May muttered, stepping away.

"That's putting it lightly..." Marco gulped.

Still, however, Morrigan remained undaunted. "...idle threats... nothing unusual." As she mused about that, she removed her glasses; inspecting them a little.

"…oh how rude…" Diablo murmured. "…calling us idle threats," He looked over at Morrigan. "And what's this about not being able to sleep in the barracks, huh? It's dangerous wandering around at night by yourself…"

"...I can take care of myself." Morrigan hummed, without looking back at Diablo. "So let me guess; hoodlums like you make it a point to pick off people going on a nightly stroll?"

"...ooh, she's talking back to big brother..." the owl giggled, "...big mistake."

"And what else can you really do besides hypnotize people, huh?" Diablo asked. "There's already been a mind that withstood that…what if there are plenty of others that can?"

"...I suppose it all depends on the mind." Morrigan huffed, before she finally looked back at Diablo. "Don't assume that you're capable of intimidating me; I've dealt with my fair share of lunatics over the years."

"And entertain me," Diablo spoke, folding his arms. "How did you deal with said 'lunatics'?"

"Let me demonstrate." Morrigan hummed, as she pocketed her glasses, before she gave Diablo's eyes a fierce glare. "First off... sit down."

Diablo's eyes widened when he found himself suddenly sitting down on the ground. "…hm?"

"Don't move." Morrigan repeated, as she began approaching Diablo. "Just sit right where you are."

Everyone looked at the two of them with either curious or baffled looks.

Diablo remained stationary, still baffled that he couldn't move.

When she had gotten closer to Diablo, she sat down in front of him, looking into his eyes. "...tell me the truth, straight from your mouth from here on out. Why did you come to this island?"

Diablo started babbling something very incoherent and started twitching a bit.

May raised her eyebrow. "…okay…definitely shows that he's got a few screws loose…"

Kiri narrowed her eyes. "...I think you should leave big brother alone, or I'll hurt you." Kiri uttered, as she approached Morrigan...

...only for Morrigan to direct a glare at the owl as well. "Stay out of this."

Instantly, Kiri backed off; unsure as to why that was.

With a hum, Morrigan looked back at Diablo. "...in English, please. Or do you simply not know why you came here?"

"…I…I don't remember…" Diablo uttered. "…I…I remember a creature…"

Then his eyes widened and he let out a scream, holding his head in agony.

"Big brother!" Kiri yelled.

"Holy- where'd _that _come from?" Will sputtered.

Narrowing her eyes, Morrigan hissed. "...alright, enough! Stop thinking about it!"

Diablo stopped screaming, breathing a little bit. "…you stay out of my mind…" he growled.

"...I will." Morrigan hummed; remaining relatively calm about the ordeal. "However... only on one condition." At that point, she aimed another piercing glare at Diablo's eyes. "I want you to stay away from me. Even if I am in a larger group, the moment you spot me in a larger crowd, you will back off unless I actually bother to call out to you. Do I make myself clear... _big brother_?"

"…fine…" Diablo grumbled, standing up. "…c'mon Kiri; let's go."

"...mhm." Kiri nodded; quickly running to Diablo's side.

"...alright, then." With that, Morrigan stood up as well, before she picked her glasses out of her pocket. "Have a pleasant afternoon."

Diablo glared at her, but he still walked away with Kiri.

"…not bad," mused May, clapping her hands.

"Seriously." Will noted with a smirk. "I've never seen someone just drive Diablo off like that."

Morrigan just hummed, as she adjusted her glasses. "Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"...just what _are_ you, anyway?" Marco uttered. "How can you deal with people like Diablo without breaking out into a sweat?"

"...it's simple, really." Morrigan noted, before she smiled a bit. "I'm a therapist."

"Oh, how exciting!" Fae exclaimed with a big smile.

"…I guess I'm not all that surprised…" Seymour murmured, rubbing his chin.

"...huh. I bet you could do a lot with that hypnotism ability of yours." Will noted, as he rubbed his own chin.

"I could, but I choose not to." Morrigan noted. "It'd go against my line of work, along with my ethics. Just because I specialize in psycho-analysis and hypno-therapy doesn't mean that I'd abuse what I can do."

"…but what he said about minds too strong for hypnotism…" May mused. "…is it really true?"

"Yeah!" Fae replied. "You know that woman with the red eyes May? She was able to resist the hypnotism! I saw it myself!"

"Her again?" scoffed Seymour.

"...feh." Will huffed as well. "Somehow, she always turns up in conversations, these days..."

Morrigan hummed, as she folded her arms. _...somehow... that still baffles me. When her eyes were green, she was easily subjugated under my hypnosis... until her eyes turned red. Maybe I should look into it a bit more..._

"…speak of the devil…" Seymour muttered, pointing over in one direction.

They saw Jill carrying Joy along, just minding her own business. The two of them entered into the doors of the malt shop; Jill smiling down at Joy sweetly. Then the two of them vanished within the building.

"…does anyone know what her story is?" May asked. "Why the hell would she have a kid at a warrior nation anyway?"

"...you know, I could ask the same question about that girl who follows Diablo around." Marco murmured. "Why'd she come here, to begin with?"

Looking at the malt shop, Morrigan hummed. _...perhaps..._ As if she forgot that the others were there, she began walking towards the malt shop.

"…uh hey Morrigan? Where are you going now?" May said with a sigh.

"…looks like she's heading toward the malt shop," Ed muttered.

"…guess we'll just leave her alone then," Seymour supposed.

"...right." Will hummed, before he looked at May and Fae. "As for you two... you should be careful of who you're getting chummy with."

"Y-Yeah! We'll be careful!" uttered Fae, grabbing her sister. "C'mon May, let's go!"

"Bah—huh? Now hang on sis!" But May was being tugged away whether she wanted to be or not.

"...you think they'll be okay?" Marco hummed when the two of them were gone.

"Hopefully; they at least seem smart enough to know who to stay away from." Will mused, before sighing.

* * *

><p>At the malt shop, Jill was making sure things were set up and working. She didn't have much experience running a shop of her own, but she had to start somewhere at least… there was a little playpen in one corner of the shop for Joy and she sat there babbling happily and playing with her toys.<p>

Eventually, Joy stood up and looked out the window from the fence of her playpen. "Mama! Mama! Wook!" and she pointed out the window.

Jill turned to look curiously. When she looked, she saw Morrigan walking towards the shop; adjusting her glasses like always.

Jill grew even more curious… and a bit nervous. She hadn't seen her since the tournament two days ago… and things had gotten off at a bad start then…

Eventually, Morrigan entered the shop, glancing over at Jill. "...good day." she said with a nod and a smile. "I didn't know you were in charge of a shop, here."

Jill blinked at first… and then she smiled back. At least she didn't seem angry.

Joy started giggling and jumping behind the fence. "Hi! Hiya! Hi!"

Looking back at Joy, Morrigan chuckled a bit. "Hello to you, too." she said with a nod to her, before she looked back at Jill. "...so, what do you serve here?"

Jill pulled out her notepad and wrote.

_I presume milkshakes or other dairy drinks…_ she had written for Morrigan. _I only got this shop very recently…_

"Ah, I see..." Morrigan nodded. "...then, I'd like a vanilla shake, please."

Jill nodded, and went behind the counter to do that. She's had some practice with the machines before, thanks to Ripper and Miser helping her, so hopefully she could do it without too much of a problem.

Joy kept jumping excitedly in her play pen. "I like mika-shakes! I like mika-shakes!"

"You do, do you?" Morrigan hummed with a slight smile. "That's adorable."

Then Joy pulled away from the play pen and proceeded to spin around until she got dizzy enough to fall on her butt. Then she giggled and clapped her hands in amusement.

Morrigan couldn't help but chuckle. "She's certainly energetic."

Jill smiled a little bit, pulling the glass away with milkshake in it and setting it on the counter, watching Joy pick up one of her toys and start chewing on it.

"Thank you." Morrigan nodded, as she took the glass, and sipped some of the milkshake. "...wow, this is really good." she said when she removed the glass from her lips. "Oh, right; how much is it?"

Jill wrote the price and showed it to Morrigan.

"...that much, huh? Not a problem." Morrigan hummed, before she fished out what she had to pay from her pocket; handing it to Jill.

Jill took the money and opened the cash register to put it in.

"Cha-ching!" Joy cooed, imitating the cash register bell when her mom opened it.

Again, Morrigan chuckled. "She seems happy. That's a good thing." she hummed, before taking another sip from her milkshake.

Jill smiled again.

Then the door opened, and when Jill looked over, her smile turned into a very angry glare.

"Well well well… would you happen to be open?" sneered a certain black ox, smirking at Jill.

Joy stopped babbling on and froze, staring at Raider blankly.

Recalling that voice, Morrigan set her milkshake down on the table, before she looked at Raider. "...you again." she hummed. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing much, just a… chocolate shake if you don't mind," Raider mused, looking at Jill.

Jill gave him a dirty look, but she went to go make another milkshake for him… against her better judgment.

Morrigan just kept looking at Raider, whilst grabbing her own milkshake; taking a sip from it again.

Raider stepped over to the play pen and looked down at Joy with a smirk. "Well hi there little girl," he chuckled.

Joy gave a nervous whine and stepped away from Raider. Jill looked back at her worriedly, but she went back to making the shake.

Morrigan glanced over to Raider as well, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"…what's with so many glares? I was just saying hi," Raider said with a shrug.

"...I'm just cautious." Morrigan responded, before she took another sip from her milkshake.

"…cautious huh…?" Raider murmured. "…I wouldn't be surprised."

"...why is that, I wonder?" Morrigan hummed, shooting Raider another glance.

"Because I saw what you did to Diablo out there," Raider replied, getting a curious look from Jill when she set the milkshake down on the counter. Raider pulled out some money and dropped it on the counter for Jill to take, and then he took the milkshake. "A therapist huh? Never thought someone like that would come here to Safe Haven," he said.

Morrigan simply hummed, before she took another sip from her milkshake. "...there's a first time for anything, as the saying goes." she mused. "Moreover, I should probably ask why you decided to observe me."

"The same as I observe everyone else; to know them and get information on then," Raider said. Then he shot a smirk at Jill. "Some more that others…"

Jill looked away in disgust.

"...you shouldn't push your luck." Morrigan hummed. "You might end up getting hurt."

"You don't think I know that?" Raider scoffed, taking a sip of his milkshake. "…damn…that's good…but I know a chocolate shake that's even better," and he snickered toward Jill.

Jill glared hatefully at him.

"...pushing your luck..." Morrigan murmured, as she took another sip of her milkshake.

"Oh? And what'll you do to stop me?" Raider said. "…oh, right. You'll abuse your mind control powers to just send me outta here, huh?" he scoffed, and turned to leave. "Keep in mind Morrigan; you're not the only one who's tried to protect Jill from me, but no matter what, I always get what I want."

And with that, he left.

Jill huffed to some relief, but she was still angry.

"...what a creep." Morrigan huffed, before she took another sip from her milkshake. "It _is_ tempting to hypnotize him into leaving you alone indefinitely..." she murmured, before she looked at Jill. "...but you're probably the kind of girl who fights her own battles, right?"

Jill nodded.

…_I need to fight my own battles to make sure that Joy feels safe with her mother, _she wrote.

"...I can understand that." Morrigan mused with a slight smile. "...but... if you'd allow it, I'd like to help you out a little, in my own way."

…_how?_ Jill asked in writing.

"...well... as that brute pointed out, I _am_ a therapist; specializing in psychoanalysis and hypno-therapy." Morrigan hummed. "If you ever feel like you need someone to talk to, I'll be more than willing to help you out."

Jill blinked again, and soon gave a small smile. _That's very kind of you,_ she wrote.

"...don't mention it." Morrigan mused. "And just for you, I won't charge for an hour a day." she added jokingly.

Jill would've laughed if she could. Then the door opened again, and Jill hoped it wasn't Raider coming back for more nonsense. Thankfully, it was Sonia, and she had her hand on Autumn's shoulder.

Autumn looked… extremely guilty about something. And he was staring at the ground.

"Sonia!" Joy grew happy seeing Sonia.

"Hiya!" Sonia called with a wave and a laugh, giving them a nod. "We figured we could swing by to say hi..." she began, before she looked at Autumn. "...and ... well, he's got something to get off his chest."

Morrigan blinked, as she looked at Autumn.

"…Jill…"

Jill looked over at Autumn, but he didn't look back up at her. "…I…need to confess something to you…" Autumn began. "…because…I have to apologize to you for it."

Jill tilted her head, and walked out from behind the counter, setting her hand on Autumn's shoulder.

Autumn finally spit it out. "…I went behind your back… and investigated your past."

Jill froze with widened eyes… the only thing that moved was her hand away from his shoulder.

Morrigan looked at Autumn with some surprise, while Sonia just folded her arms; looking at the two of them.

It took a very long time for Jill to respond…

…and it was a slap across Autumn's face with some tears in her eyes. Autumn was shocked that it happened, but not surprised about getting one in reasoning.

Morrigan actually winced once Jill slapped Autumn; though she remained silent.

Jill spun around and walked away, up the stairs.

"…J-Jill! Wait!" he hollered, hurrying after her.

"Mama!" Joy reached out of her play pen but she wasn't able to reach anywhere.

"...oh, geez..." Sonia sighed, rubbing her head. "...hey, Morrigan. Think you can go up there and help out? Someone's got to look after Joy in the meantime..."

"...um... of course," Nodding, Morrigan walked up the stairs as well.

She started to hear Autumn's voice. "Jill, wait, listen!"

And right when she walked into the room, she saw Jill spin around again and lash her hand out to Autumn's throat, pinning him against the wall. Autumn gasped and choked in utter shock, seeing a murderous glare from Jill.

And her eyes were still green.

Now _that_ gave Morrigan a start. "Ah- hey!" Quickly, she walked up to the two of them; trying to separate them. "Stop this, right now!"

Autumn was released from Jill and he fell to the floor, clasping his throat and breathing while more tears just ran down Jill's cheeks.

Taking a few breaths to calm down, Morrigan looked from Autumn to Jill. "...now... I realize that this is most definitely a very touchy subject... but may we resolve this in a civilized manner?"

"…Jill…please just let me explain…" Autumn muttered, looking down onto the ground. "…I had no idea…I…" Jill turned her back to him, but she didn't leave. "…when I found everything out I…"

Jill just couldn't believe it. A complete stranger went behind her back like that? And he was able to find everything out about her? How does she know that he's not just lying?

Morrigan looked at Jill with a sympathetic look... before a thought ran through her mind. "...Jill." she uttered. "I think I can help out, here... just tell me what you want to hear from him."

Jill slowly turned toward Morrigan in wondering.

"You doubt his confession, don't you?" Morrigan assumed. "Let me speak with him, and I can ascertain whether or not he is telling the absolute truth. All I need you to do is to tell me what you want to hear from him, and I'll do what I can."

Jill turned away from her again.

"…it would mean that you would learn things about Jill that most people don't know…" Autumn muttered. "…things that even some of the government are keeping as secrets from the world…"

"...and I would not tell a single soul." Morrigan said firmly. "As a therapist, I abhor those who abuse the trust of others just for a chance to get some juicy intel on someone. When someone pours their soul to you, you keep it bottled up, all the way to the grave. That's how I see it."

"…and…I violated that…" Autumn muttered, looking down at the ground. "…I came to confess that Jill…and to tell you how sorry I am for that…all I could think about was revenge for my mother and my sister, Summer… but I never imaged what you went through…"

"…or…what Metal Sonic went through… for that matter…"

Instantly, Morrigan's eyes widened. "...Metal Sonic?" she uttered. "You mean... the genuine article?"

Jill hand's clenched when she heard that.

"…yeah…" Autumn muttered. "…for you see Morrigan…Jill was involved with him long ago…in fact, she's one of the reasons why he disappeared off the face of the planet."

…_so…he really knows…? _Jill thought, feeling more tears run down her cheeks.

"...really..." Morrigan hummed, nodding a few times. "...well, that's... certainly food for thought..." Then, she regained her composure. "...but... that changes nothing. Even if Jill was the one who made him decide to disappear from the public eye, my lips are still sealed."

There was silence in the air for a few minutes.

"…Last night…" Autumn began. "…I flew off of Safe Haven and headed for Mystic Ruins. There, I met Professor Miles Tails Prower, and a group of cheerful, kind boys… they all knew you…"

Morrigan looked down at Autumn, adjusting her glasses a little.

"…I…didn't say anything about your whereabouts…" Autumn muttered. "…it seemed like a pretty painful subject for them to talk about…but…the boys were excited to meet someone new and they showed me the Clubhouse…"

Jill turned and glared at him, but she was still listening to him.

"…I found evidence of what I was looking for…and Milo walked into the room. He knew all along what my intentions were, but he still let me go to figure everything out for myself…I felt so angry, and so confused; wondering why no one was telling me anything…" Autumn brushed back his hair.

"…I got to the wasteland toward Metropolis after that…"

Jill's eyes widened, and she went from angry to worry. Did Autumn do what she think he did…?

…did he…actually go see Metal?

Morrigan adjusted her glasses again. "...go on." she urged.

"…I met with Lock the Sniper on the way, and he led me to Metropolis," Autumn muttered. "…I ran up that tower, all set to wreck my vengeance…"

"…but when I got to the top…and I finally saw him, I stopped."

Jill's grew a bit shaky, but she didn't look away from Autumn.

"…he woke up and looked at me," Autumn uttered, covering his eyes. "…I saw that he wasn't a machine anymore. He was flesh and blood…just like you and me…and when he told me that he imprisoned that monster into himself… I've…I've never felt so horrible in all my life…"

"...flesh and blood...?" Morrigan blinked. "That is..."

"…he told me that you sacrificed yourself to save him, battling Callous," Autumn went on. "…and in the end, he brought you back to life."

More tears rolled down Jill's face and she looked away from Autumn.

"…you were the one that changed him from what he used to be," Autumn muttered, looking at Jill. "…I've never known anyone who could do something like that…even for what he used to be…"

Morrigan could only blink, as she looked back at Jill.

"…and…to even have to know a monster like Deity Novagod…" Autumn uttered. "…it only made me think how selfish of a bastard I was for uncovering something as momentous as that…just because I wanted revenge for my family."

Jill finally looked back at him, hurt as ever… and shaking so much. She hoped that he wouldn't even find out about Novagod either, but he did… and here he is, apologizing heavily for seeking out the truth like that.

Morrigan gulped. "...does..." she began. "...does the story match, Jill?"

Jill nodded, closing her eyes.

"...I... see..." Morrigan eventually nodded, as she adjusted her glasses. "...truly a heavy topic..."

"…those red eyes are Callous, aren't they?" Autumn asked, looking up at her. "…when they resurrected you, you and Callous joined your souls back together…and now she's stuck with you."

Jill nodded, turning away from him.

"…she's able to take over you," Autumn muttered, and Jill nodded again.

Morrigan blinked. "...unbelievable..." she uttered, as she looked at Jill again.

"…when I saw him," Autumn continued, "he didn't say directly… but I could tell that he still missed you…"

Jill fell to her knees and tried to cover up her eyes so she wouldn't cry anymore. _…just stop…_ she thought. _…don't go any farther…it still hurts to think about it…_

But like the idiot Autumn was, he went on, "…I'm sorry about your voice…to have so much to say and not be able to say it…"

When Jill finally glared at Autumn, he stopped. Even with tears rolling down her face, that glare struck fear into him.

Morrigan gulped, before she looked at Autumn. "...I... think she's heard enough, Autumn."

"…Yeah I…I got that message…" Autumn muttered with wide eyes.

Jill eventually stood back up and walked away, closing herself in her bedroom to leave Autumn and Morrigan in the living room.

"...hm." With that hum, Morrigan let out a sigh. "...I think we should leave." she noted.

"…yeah…" croaked Autumn, getting up from the ground.

Then another thought occurred to him. "…I should've never given that diary to Raider…"

* * *

><p>Raider was pacing around in his office, holding his head. "No way…no way! This is…this is gold! PURE gold!" he laughed to himself, but he still couldn't believe what he had read; what he had recorded. It was an adventure so detailed, so amazing…<p>

…so mind-blowing.

Deity Novagod, Metal Sonic, and all other things…

"…oh god, how could she really be the middle of all that…?" he uttered, still pacing back and forth around the place. "…and she's here…and she's got a kid…oh man!" He STILL couldn't believe it.

In fact, it was so unbelievable that it took a strong effort to even TRY and believe it. He was laughing, and shaking and sweating all over.

He would never believe that just mere information could do that to him.

At that point, someone suddenly knocked on the door. For the first time ever, Raider was actually startled by that knocking with a jump, and he hurried to shut the computers off and put away the diary. "Come in!" he called out.

And the door opened.

"...so, I hear that you're feeling happy?" the one who strode into the room chuckled. "Mind telling me why that is, Raider?" And it happened to be Spiel, who gave the ox a friendly grin.

"…uh…" this time, Raider was drawing a blank, and it didn't help that Spiel's friendly grin slightly intimidated him.

"Come on; don't be shy, or anything." Spiel chuckled. "Tell me, what happened? Did you win the lottery, or something?"

"…n-now now Spiel…I can't tell you anything unless you get me some info in return…heheh…" Raider tried to joke nervously.

"How about this one? The sky's blue." Spiel joked back, before he stopped directly in front of Raider; not losing his grin. "Now tell me what the hell you're so happy for."

Raider almost wimped out at that last minute, but there was just a small part of him that somehow stayed cool.

"…I got the info that I've spent a few years looking for…"

"Oh, is that right?" Spiel chuckled. "What info would that be, eh?"

"…figuring out Jill…" Raider murmured in defeat.

"Oh, her?" Spiel hummed. "...why are you so obsessed with finding out more about her, anyway?"

Raider shrugged. "What? She appeals to me…"

"What, in a sick, stalker-like way?" Spiel chuckled.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" complained Raider with a huff.

"How? Because I'm right on the money on my guess?" Spiel hummed.

Raider grumbled. "Look, is there anything you want besides making fun of me?"

"Well, since I found out why you're so happy... I'm curious as to _how_ you came to be so happy." Spiel noted with a chuckle.

Raider glared at him. "Now that's not really any of your business Spiel…"

"...what; like you have any business recording logs about every single person who's ever been to Safe Haven?" Spiel retorted, as he returned the glare; without losing his grin.

"…point taken," Raider grumbled.

"So, tell me; what helped you get that info you were so keen on finding?" Spiel inquired once again.

"…not really what exactly; it's more of a _who,_" Raider replied. "…Autumn helped me find out a bunch about Jill by bringing back some information."

"Oh, did he?" Spiel hummed. "How'd he find this information? Did he blackmail someone?"

"No; he snuck off the island at night and explored the Mystic Ruins," Raider replied.

"...aah..." Spiel nodded. "And what did he find from looking around there, hm?"

"A diary…" Raider replied in another grumble. "…written all by Jill."

"And I'd like that diary back if you don't mind…"

Raider's eyes widened and he shot a look at the door where Autumn was standing. Morrigan happened to stand next to Autumn, adjusting her glasses.

"...man, your security isn't up to snuff." Spiel remarked with a chuckle.

"It's not my fault if all my security bots got wiped out!" complained Raider, shooting his hands up. "They all got trashed last year!"

"Let me guess; by Jill?" Autumn growled, walking toward him. "Serves you right…"

Raider gave Autumn a bit of a puzzled look. "…why the sudden change of heart?"

Morrigan just stood where she was; observing the impending scene.

"...you know, he doesn't seem all that pleased." Spiel noted.

"…give me the diary…_now_," growled Autumn, holding out his hand.

Raider just stared at him… and then laughed. "You want it back now, huh?" he said. "That sure ain't the way to ask for it…"

Both Spiel and Morrigan just looked at the two of them without saying anything.

"…give me the diary…_please…_" Autumn winced when he said that, because he really didn't want to waste his courtesy with a guy like Raider.

Raider chuckled. "That's more like it…" and he pulled out the diary from where he hid it. "…so you want this?"

"…yes…" Autumn growled.

Still, the others kept quiet.

"…hm…I don't know…" Raider tapped his chin. "Maybe I don't wanna give up something so valuable…"

Then Raider got grabbed and yanked forward to meet face-to-face with a murderous looking glare from Autumn. "You give that diary back to me," Autumn growled; hate dripping from his tone. "Or so help me…"

Morrigan let out a brief gasp, whilst Spiel simply grinned.

"…o-okay…" Raider actually was intimidated by that glare, and he held up the diary for Autumn to swipe right out of his hands. Then Autumn let Raider go.

"…and another thing…" Autumn spoke. "…I want you to erase any data in your computer that you recorded from the diary."

"WHAT?" Raider rose to his feet. "Now wait just a minute here!"

"...you know, I'd do as he says." Spiel chuckled. "He seems serious enough about it."

"And what'll you do if I don't, huh?" Raider asked.

That prompted a punch from Autumn that sent Raider flying into the wall. Raider's eyes popped back open wide, looking at Autumn in shock at the force that he threw.

Even Morrigan looked at Autumn in shock. "...such strength..."

That caused Spiel to break out into a laughing fit. "Now _that's_ what I like to see!" he cackled.

"…_erase…that…data…__**now**_…" growled Autumn.

"…a-alright…alright…" Raider hurried to turn on his computers, but he still hesitated on the data. One more look from Autumn though, and Raider set to work on deleting the most recent files he recorded…much to his dismay.

Chuckling, Spiel patted Autumn's back. "That's some real backbone you got there, Autumn! You could get far with that kind of attitude!"

Autumn only glared up at Spiel; not really in the mood for Spiel's encouragement.

"Whoa, there; no need to direct that anger at me." Spiel chuckled, whilst retracting his hand away from Autumn.

Raider eventually sighed. "…there…it's all gone." Autumn came over and took a good look through the files for himself. As far as he could see, Raider was telling the truth. There weren't any signs of any files even remotely related to Jill.

"…good…" he muttered, tucking the diary under his arm.

"...then... shall we take our leave?" Morrigan inquired.

"…yeah…" Autumn muttered, turning around and leaving out the door.

"…what? No 'pleasure doing business with you' or anything?" moaned Raider with a shrug, although he knew it was a lost cause.

"...for you? It wouldn't be anything resembling 'pleasure'." Morrigan huffed, before she followed Autumn.

"...looks like you got royally owned, there." Spiel chuckled. "And I didn't even have to step in this time."

"Shut up Spiel," huffed Raider in disdain, slumping back in his computer chair.

"Why should I?" Spiel chuckled. "What could you possibly do to threaten me into shutting up? I'll just repay the threats tenfold, like I always do." Then, he turned to leave. "You see, unlike Autumn... you just don't have a backbone, Raider."

Raider grumbled even more…

…but he looked over at his security feed to make sure that Spiel left the area entirely. Then he went back onto his computer and did some searching.

"…luckily, I didn't erase all of it," he muttered, plugging in a data stick into his computer to bring up some files. Then he smirked. "Not Johnny, Not Autumn, and not even Spiel could get me to erase info like this…"

* * *

><p>"Mmmh..." Lighting her pipe, Hex took a long and good drag from it, before blowing out a plume of smoke. "...time to get to work." she mused to herself, before she inhaled. "Koopman!" she yelled.<p>

Koopman eventually walked into the room. "Yes Madame?"

"...I'm planning a party in the near future." Hex began, as she looked at her servant. "And I want to make sure that it goes off without any trouble, or at least without anyone barging in unannounced... so I'd like you to order a few things for me."

Koopman bowed his head. "What things would those be, Madame?"

"...I require some benzodiazepines, of various sorts." Hex began. "And... some various items with aphrodisiac elements to them."

"…yes Madame…" Koopman bowed his head again. "…will that be all?"

"...two more things." Hex mused. "First, you can buy something for yourself. Second... make sure that neither the toucan or the spider get to the package when it arrives. They're going to come and ask questions if they see what I've ordered..."

"Yes Madame," Koopman replied obediently, turning to leave.

With a smirk, Hex took a seat whilst taking a drag from her pipe. "...good thing that she came along... my cells have been awfully empty, lately..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN...<strong>_


	17. Chapter 17

_A Few Months Later…_

* * *

><p>The training was tough for most of the newcomers. After all, most of them weren't the fighting types…but they pulled through. All of them got better and better…<p>

…then the snows of Christmastime started blowing along a chilly wind.

"...brr..." Walking through the snowy forest, Morrigan shivered considerably, whilst pushing her glasses up a bit. "...I can't stand this weather..." she murmured.

"Here, you can have my coat…"

Next thing Morrigan knew, a soft, plush coat was put all around her, and Autumn pat her back. "That should keep you warm."

Morrigan blinked, as she glanced back at Autumn. "...uh... thank you." she said with a nod. "...but won't you be cold, now?" she inquired.

"I've got all my hair to keep me warm," Autumn said with a friendly smile. "And if that's not enough, I'll just retreat into some building to warm up."

"...I guess that makes sense." Morrigan noted with a friendly smile as well. "So, where are you headed, anyway?"

"…just walking around; I don't have very much to do since we don't train much during the holidays…" Autumn murmured.

"...I see." Morrigan hummed. "Still, you shouldn't push yourself too hard; it could easily backfire on you." she pointed out, whilst adjusting her glasses.

"…I'll be fine…" muttered Autumn.

Morrigan let out a brief sigh. "...you sure about that?" she hummed.

"…yeah…I'm sure," murmured Autumn, looking at the ground.

Sighing, Morrigan turned to look at Autumn. "It doesn't sound like it." she noted. "...do you want to talk about it?"

"…not really…" and with that, Autumn started walking away from her.

However, Morrigan decided to follow him. "Listen; I'm a therapist. If I see you looking down without you wanting to talk about it, it's going to nag at me all day." she said. "We could go someplace private, if that's what's keeping you from talking."

"…I…suppose…" Autumn replied quietly.

"...alright." Morrigan nodded. "...now, let's see... where is somewhere no one would be walking about...?"

"…maybe an alleyway in town? Or the barracks… I know that none of the soldiers would be there during the holidays…" Autumn muttered.

"...the barracks, huh..." Morrigan hummed, before nodding. "...alright; let's head over there." With that, she took Autumn's hand, and began walking towards the barracks.

Autumn didn't complain, but when they were walking through the forest, he noticed the fact that she had taken his hand…and she was still holding it. "…was it really necessary to take my hand?" he finally asked when they were getting close to the barracks.

"Maybe, maybe not." Morrigan shrugged. "Force of habit, I guess; sometimes, patients just don't want to talk with me, so I need to drag them to my office."

"Ah…I see," Autumn replied. "…well, we're here now…" and just as Autumn supposed, there wasn't anyone here in sight.

"...right." Morrigan nodded, as she began heading into the barracks. "Let's begin. What's on your mind, Autumn?"

"…what happened when I first came here…" Autumn replied with a sigh. "…it still bothers me…I haven't even returned that diary yet…"

"...hm." Morrigan hummed. "It's been bothering you for this long... why do you suppose that is?"

"…maybe…because I feel the same kind of shame and guilt as Jill does when she ran away…" Autumn muttered. "…I'm not really sure to be honest…but I haven't even seen Jill since then either…I still don't know how she really took it…and Sonia's still mad at me…"

"...I see." Morrigan hummed; nodding a few times.

"…and…I still have nightmares every now and then…" Autumn muttered. "…so…I'm not really getting enough sleep…"

"...and still, you've been keeping this to yourself." Morrigan sighed. "Why is that?"

"…because I promised a lot of people that I would keep my mouth shut…and even if I made Raider erase all that data, he still knows what was in that diary…" Autumn muttered. "…he knows all about Jill now…and a creep like him can use that knowledge and abuse it…"

"…that and…I'm still conflicted about what happened to my mother and sister years ago…I spent a long time being angry at Metal Sonic and when I found out what really happened to him…"

Autumn sighed, unable to really continue, and he pinched his brows. He was still very tired…

Looking back at Autumn, Morrigan let out a sigh, before she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax." she said. "C'mon; let's find you something to lie down on, while we continue."

"…right…" Autumn replied, getting up slowly.

…then when he walked, he started swaying a bit.

"Whoa, there." Quickly, Morrigan took Autumn's arm and hung it around her shoulder. "You shouldn't walk like that; you'd faint on the spot."

"I'm fine," Autumn grumbled, pulling his arm away from Morrigan.

…but when he took another step, he tripped and fell onto the floor with a groan.

Letting out a brief gasp, Morrigan knelt down by Autumn. "You're far from fine." she said. "...you look like hell." Then, she tried picking Autumn up. "Come on; up you go..."

Autumn went up easily enough, and suddenly he found that he didn't have the strength to struggle from Morrigan.

"..have you even been eating, lately?" Morrigan questioned in disbelief.

"…yeah, but…maybe not as much as I should…" muttered Autumn, averting his eyes away from her.

"...oh, you absolute idiot..." Morrigan murmured. "No wonder you're so unwell; you're malnourished." With that, she began carrying Autumn after her. "That does it; we're getting you some food, right now."

"Wait, but… I…" Autumn even found out that he was too tired to protest against her.

"You be quiet." Morrigan noted. "As a therapist, I just can't see you doing this to yourself. We're going to the pub, so you can get something to eat."

Autumn sighed in disdain. He didn't want to go there because he figured that Ani would be mad at him too… and she was scary to get mad.

Against his wishes, though, Morrigan dragged him all the way to the front doors of the pub and entered in. Ani noticed immediately and her ears perked up in concern when she saw them. "Is something wrong?"

"...he hasn't been eating as much as he should." Morrigan noted. "Get him something filling, stat. Put it on me." With that, she placed Autumn in one of the seats.

"Right!" Ani was quick to hurry behind the counters and tie on the apron.

"…but…I'm not hungry…" Autumn muttered.

"Don't protest." Morrigan scolded. "You have to stop treating yourself like this. Getting little sleep... not eating enough... that is a serious hazard to your health, Autumn."

Ani looked back at them in some surprise. _He's not doing that well?_ She wondered in thought. _…better make something good then…_

"…so you're just going to scold me for not taking care of myself…?" Autumn grumbled.

"No." Morrigan hummed, as she adjusted her glasses. "I'm going to help you through this. I don't want to see you tossing your life away like that."

Autumn slowly looked up at Morrigan. "…but…why…?"

Sighing, Morrigan looked at Autumn. "...because no one should ever have to be so miserable, when others are around to help them."

"…oops…" Ani noticed that one of the bottles of vodka had been dripping and right into Autumn's hot cocoa too. She yanked it away and looked in it worriedly. "…how much got in there…?" she muttered to herself under her breath so the other two wouldn't hear her.

Although she noticed that his food was burning slightly and she set down the cocoa to tend to it.

Eventually she figured it would be alright and she took them up to set in front of Autumn. "There you are; a nice big lunch," she said.

Autumn looked at it a bit uneasily. He wasn't even sure if he was going to be able to eat all of it.

"...go on." Morrigan said with a nod.

Autumn looked at her, and then took up the fork, putting the first bit of food in his mouth. "…it's better than the Mess Halls…" he muttered, chewing.

"...see?" Morrigan noted. "You needed something to eat."

Autumn finally stopped complaining and started to eat some more. Ani became a bit nervous when she saw Autumn pick up the mug of hot cocoa and drink it, but he made no other response other than a sigh of content, and then he went back to eating.

After that, Ani wondered if it would have any effects…

"...is something on your mind, Ani?" Morrigan inquired, as she looked right at Ani.

"Oh, nothing…" Ani murmured. "…I think I might've left the oven on though…" and she went to go "check."

Eventually Autumn had finished all of his food, and guzzled down the last of his hot cocoa.

"…whew…is it just me, or is it hot in here…?" he muttered in a daze.

Morrigan blinked. "...I... think it might be just you."

"…Really?" Autumn tried standing up. "…wow…everything's spinning…"

"...spinning?" Morrigan blinked.

"…yeah…" Autumn stumbled a bit and threw his arms around Morrigan in a slump. "…oops…sorry…" he muttered. "…I can't walk really well…"

Morrigan blinked. "...uh... don't worry about it..." she uttered, before she stood up; supporting Autumn on her shoulder.

"…whew…it's still really hot…think you could get me outside…?" Autumn asked, wiping the sweat off of his brow.

"...right..." Morrigan nodded, as she began taking Autumn outside. "...let's hope you didn't catch a fever..."

"…but…I feel okay…" Autumn murmured. Then he got outside and started shivering and chattering his teeth. "I-i-i-i-i-t's c-c-c-cold!"

Morrigan blinked. "...you _definitely_ sound like you have a fever. Hang on..." In a few moments, Morrigan had removed the coat, and put it back on Autumn, before returning to support him on her shoulder. "...feel better?"

"…yeah…" Autumn held the coat closely, and then he glanced back over at Morrigan.

He stared at her for a long time.

Morrigan blinked. "...Autumn? Is something the matter?"

"…I don't know why I never noticed it before…" Autumn muttered. "…but…you're actually pretty …attractive…" Then he held his head. "…why did that come out of my mouth…?"

Morrigan blinked. "...uh..." Looking away, she adjusted her glasses. "...that's... the first time I've heard _that_..."

"…really?" Autumn looked back at her.

"...yeah." Morrigan nodded, "At least right to my face."

"…I don't know what's come over me," Autumn muttered. "Maybe I just need to lay down…"

"...uh... maybe so," Morrigan nodded. "...I'll take you somewhere to rest up..."

Autumn looked up… and started chuckling. "…things are spinning again…"

And then he fell face-first into the snow.

"Whoa!" Quickly, Morrigan picked up Autumn again. "Alright... relax; we'll get you someplace to rest." And she began carrying Autumn off towards the barracks.

Ani stepped out and watched Morrigan carry away Autumn worriedly. "…sorry…" she muttered under her breath.

Although when those two were gone, there was laughter that bellowed behind her. "Ani, I think that's the funniest mistake you've made!" Ani spun around, and she saw her Grandpa Bruno laughing his head off, and Hunter was standing there too but he wasn't laughing so much. Though with them were Caitlin and King, and sure enough, they _were_ laughing as much as Bruno was.

"You said it, Bruno! That might be the funniest thing I've seen all week!" Caitlin laughed.

Ani started blushing… "…but I didn't mean to."

"No, but you set something off that could be turned into something better," Bruno laughed.

"I agree." King nodded. "They look like they'd fit perfectly together!"

"…you serious?" Hunter looked genuinely surprised at that.

Bruno pat his back. "Sure, why not? It doesn't hurt to play a little match maker every now and then!"

Ani lit up with a grin. "Captain Charmy and I would do that all the time!"

"Now _that's_ a fun game, if I ever knew one!" Caitlin laughed.

"…you guys are nuts…" Hunter muttered, shaking his head.

"And how long did it take for you to realize that?" King laughed.

"When you four met each other," Hunter chuckled.

"Touche." King chuckled in return.

* * *

><p>"May, where are you taking us?" asked Fae a bit worriedly.<p>

"Don't worry; it'll be fun," May assured them. "You guys will see." She and a group of people were walking through the forest that night.

"...I dunno..." One of those were Guts, who looked around him cautiously. "...why did we go out so late, anyway...?"

"That's when all the parties are the best; at nighttime," May replied.

"…sure they are…" moaned Autumn, holding his head. He sure had one hell of a time trying to get over what happened to him earlier today, and he had a bit of a headache right now.

Morrigan walked next to him, whilst adjusting her glasses. _...something's off..._ she thought.

"…well, here it is!" May stopped and showed them all what they were looking at. They saw a large manor in the distance, and its lights were on.

"…wow! Who would've thought someone would live in such a nice place here?" Fae exclaimed excitedly.

Autumn looked at that, and then at May. "…I don't like the looks of this," he whispered to Morrigan.

"...neither do I." Morrigan whispered back. "Be prepared for anything."

"...say... who lives there, anyway?" Guts inquired, as he glanced at May.

"You'll see," May chuckled. "C'mon!" and he ran off.

"Wait for me May!" Fae called, hurrying after her along with a bunch of the other soldiers behind her.

Autumn looked at Morrigan, "…c'mon. I guess we'd better follow…" and he ran after them.

Sighing, Morrigan followed as well.

Eventually they all got to the front door, and May knocked. The door was answered by Koopman, who raised an eyebrow at all of them.

"…we're here for a party," May said with a smirk.

"…very well…" Koopman muttered. "…you may come in. My Mistress will be with you shorty…"

…_Mistress…_ Autumn thought, narrowing his eyes while they all entered into the foyer.

_...doesn't sound good at all. _Morrigan thought with a huff.

"...man, this place is fancy." Guts noted. "Who built it, anyway?"

"A lot of soldiers that were once here," Koopman replied. "It was Spiel's idea to build a civilization of sorts on this island…"

"...Spiel..." Morrigan hummed, as she adjusted her glasses.

"...so... who's this Mistress, anyway?" Guts inquired once more.

"Ah, they've arrived?" That female chuckle ringing from further into the house sent a few shivers down Morrigan's spine. "Just send them into the living room, Koopman!"

"Right…Oh, would any of you care for some refreshments?" Koopman offered them to a table full of drinks in glasses. "You may bring them with you…"

"Sure!" Fae went right up and took one to drink. "Tasty!" and she headed toward where that voice came from, along with many of the other soldiers.

"No thanks…I think I need to be more careful what things I eat and drink…" Autumn grumbled, rubbing his temples.

"...hm." With a slight hum, Morrigan took one of the glasses; though she didn't drink from it. "Let's go, then." And she followed the crowd.

Shrugging, Guts took one of the glasses as well, before following.

Eventually they all came into the living room, which was as fancy as anyone would imagine in a place like this.

"I will leave you all with my mistress then…" Koopman replied, bowing and walking away.

Looking around, Morrigan narrowed her eyes... when she noticed someone enter the living room from the other side.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you all could come here tonight!" Slithering into the room, whilst wearing a very fashionable dress, was Hex, who gave them all a bow of courtesy. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Oh WOW! What a pretty dress!" squealed Fae.

Autumn looked at Hex warily, and he stood in front of Morrigan; though that was something he did without noticing really… Morrigan blinked at that, but decided not to comment on it.

"Do you like it?" Hex chuckled. "I picked it out myself. I could only wear the best for an occasion like this." Then, her eyes moved over to the other flamingo twin. "May! You're looking good tonight, as well!" she laughed in a friendly manner.

"Why thank you," May replied.

"…you know her?" Autumn muttered.

"Of course I do; I wouldn't have brought you to a party if I didn't know her," May replied.

"...right..." Morrigan hummed, as she looked back at Hex. "...mind telling us your name?"

"Oh, in good time." Hex chuckled. "For now, why don't we start enjoying ourselves? Refreshments and various treats are all waiting for you."

"Sounds good to me!" Fae exclaimed.

And so it began; everyone started socializing and having a good time.

Meanwhile, Autumn still kept his distance and stayed close to Morrigan, looking at the drink in her hand. "…I still don't like this," he whispered. "Whatever you do, I wouldn't drink that…it smells funky to me…"

"...I know." Morrigan whispered back. "I simply took one to not appear rude... but this whole party reeks of something..."

"…I know…and I don't like the looks of that woman…" Autumn muttered, peering over at Hex and May who were chatting amongst themselves.

"...she's giving me the creeps, too..." Morrigan nodded.

"…it's more than that for me…" Autumn muttered. "…it's like she's giving the impression to me that this is more than just a party…she wants something from all of us…"

Then Autumn blinked and held his head. "…wait…how would I know that? This is the first time I've seen her."

Morrigan blinked as well. "...that _is_ curious..." she noted.

"…I don't like being here…" Autumn muttered. "…I'm getting a lot of bad feelings about this…maybe we need to leave Morrigan…"

"...maybe so..." Morrigan nodded.

So Autumn took Morrigan by the arm and started heading out.

"Hey hey!" May popped up in front of them and stopped them. "Where are you going? It's only getting started!"

Autumn glared at her, which actually made May stop in her tracks.

"...to be honest... we're not exactly comfortable here." Morrigan said to May, as she adjusted her glasses.

"Oh, but it's not that bad…" May assured.

"You keep avoiding telling us who she is; more so, you know her…" Autumn muttered, with his glare getting worse and almost startling May. "…this isn't just a party, is it?"

May got nervous while looking at Autumn. "…hey…chill a little bit…"

"Aaaw, what's going on, here?" At that point, a pair of tentacles were wrapped around Autumn and Morrigan's shoulders, as Hex popped in in-between them. "A little quarreling between friends won't do; this is a party, after all." she laughed.

"…no…it's not a party…" Autumn plucked the tentacle off his shoulder and glared back at Hex. "…and you know that…"

Hex blinked, before she chuckled. "Whatever are you talking about? Everyone else is having a good time."

"Oh?" Autumn nudged his head toward Morrigan's glass. "What did you put in those? No one else can smell it, but I can…"

Hex looked at the glass. "...why don't you try it, and find out for yourself?"

"...so you're not denying that you put something in these?" Morrigan hummed.

"...well..." Chuckling, Hex glanced back at the other guests. "..._they_ don't seem to mind it, at this point."

"…because they already drank it and are drugged," Autumn replied.

Then…he held his head. His headache seemed to be getting worse.

Morrigan looked at him in concern. "...Autumn?"

"…here, just have a sip," May said, offering him a glass. "It'll help get rid of that headache of yours, I'm sure."

"…no…" Autumn muttered. "…not till you tell me what's going on here…"

"...we insist." Hex said with a chuckle.

"...for the last time, we don't want your drink." Morrigan uttered, as she reached for her glasses. "Now tell us what this is all about... or I'll simply have to force you."

"C'mon." May held the glass up to him. "Just try it-!"

"—I said NO!" Autumn screamed, knocking away the glass so that it would shatter against the wall.

Hex looked at him in some surprise, as did Morrigan.

Autumn stumbled away, and his shoulder hit the wall, holding his head. "…it hurts…my head hurts…"

May raised her eye brow, and looked over at Morrigan. "What's wrong with your boyfriend?"

Morrigan instantly shuddered. "B-boyfriend?"

"That aside, what's the matter with him?"

"...I don't know..." Morrigan uttered, before she hurried over to Autumn. "...what's wrong?" she whispered to him.

"…I don't know…" he uttered. "…my head hurts…and it feels like a splitting headache…but I almost feel like it's something else…"

"...something else?" Morrigan uttered. "...never mind; we're getting out of here." Then, she tried hoisting Autumn over her shoulder.

But Fae came in and stopped that, grabbing Morrigan from behind. "Woooo!" and she thrust a glass to Morrigan's lips, spilling the drink mostly on her face but actually getting some in her mouth.

"MFF?" she sputtered, but too late; she accidentally swallowed that drink. Coughing, she let go of Autumn. "What the..."

"...well... that was unorthodox." Hex noted with a chuckle.

"…guess she's a little loopier than I thought…" May chuckled.

Autumn shot a look up at Morrigan in some shock at that.

Shaking her head, Morrigan placed a hand against the wall. "...this..."

"...it doesn't work as fast as one would assume." Hex noted. "But give it a few moments, and..."

Autumn stood up. "Morrigan…hey…" and he shook her a little bit.

"...Autumn..." Morrigan uttered. "...this taste... I recognize it..." she uttered.

Autumn's eyes widened a bit. "…you do…?"

"...you... need to get out..." she murmured.

Autumn's eyes widened even more. "…but I can't…not without you…"

But he went unheard, because the soldiers around them were getting crazier…and Autumn got shoved away from Morrigan, May and Hex. "Ah! WAIT!"

Hex chuckled. "May, how about you find some company for us?" she said. "Things are really about to turn wild, now."

"I'll say," May chuckled, setting her hand on Morrigan's shoulder. "…how 'bout it Morrigan? You want to join me and Hex?"

Autumn heard that from afar… he wasn't sure how, but his eyes shot open. He remembered Will's warning a few months back. "…no…"

Morrigan looked at May... and all she was able to do was give her a dazed nod.

Autumn saw this, just before he got shoved even more by the crazy soldiers surrounding him. Next thing he knew, he was thrown onto the ground, and he clutched his head. It was hurting so much… and there was so much noise around him. There was so much going on that Autumn just wanted to get out of here…

…but Morrigan was in trouble. If he didn't do anything soon, all of them would be in trouble. He should never have come here…

...then, someone grabbed Autumn. "Dude, are you okay?" It was Guts, who looked at him with some concern.

"…I…I gotta get outta here…" Autumn muttered. "…but Morrigan was taken away…I gotta find her…" he looked up and sure enough, she was gone along with Hex and May. "…we gotta get outta here Guts…"

"...say no more." Guts murmured. "Man, I knew something was up the moment I tasted that crap they called refreshments..."

"…but I… I can't hardly move…" Autumn muttered. After all, he still felt pretty weak, and all this craziness was overwhelming for him.

…_you're going to let them all push you around like this?_

He wasn't sure where he heard that voice. "…Guts…did you just say something?" Autumn uttered.

"...I didn't." Guts shrugged, before he picked Autumn up. "Now come on; if we hurry, we can get King to show up with some of his buddies, and stop all of this..." Then, he began pushing a path through the crazed crowd.

"…but…but I gotta get to Morrigan…" Autumn uttered.

_That's right… you let her slip away from your grip… just how guilty would you feel if they did anything that unforgivable to her…?_

"Whoever's talking to me, shut up…" Autumn spoke out.

_Oh, but this wouldn't be the first time you let someone down like that, would you?_

Hearing that, Autumn's eyes widened again and he planted his feet on the ground, keeping Guts from pulling him any farther.

"...Autumn?" Guts blinked, as he looked at Autumn. "...are you okay?"

"…what did you say…?" Autumn uttered.

_Oh your poor sister and mother…denied their revenge because the same machine that killed them was suffering his well-deserved punishment already…_

Autumn held his head again. It was starting to hurt much more. "How do you know that? Where are you?"

_It's not a question of _where,_ it's more of a who. I am you…_

"NO!" he screamed. "I can't be talking to myself like that!"

_Instead of having a panic attack and wasting time on that, why don't you make yourself useful and try to save someone before the same thing happens to them?_

"Autumn!" And at that point, Guts smacked the moth. "Get a hold of yourself! You're freaking out too much!"

Autumn just pushed away Guts, and he fell on one knee. "Shut up…I didn't let them die…"

_Then prove it. Or are you too afraid…?_

More of the soldiers started shoving them again, but that was the last straw for Autumn. He raised his arms and somehow was able to shove them all back with a scream, away from him and Guts. Then in a growing fury, he ran through the crowd toward the hallways.

"Ah- AUTUMN!" And Guts rushed after him.

Everything…it was starting to come out to him. He could smell things he couldn't normally smell…hear things he couldn't hear from far away usually… and he felt energy pulsing through him. Maybe it was adrenaline… but he never felt so powerful like this before…

_Hurry now…before something bad happens to her…_

And that was all he could focus on… trying to find Morrigan to get her and himself out of here…

* * *

><p>Lying on a bed, Morrigan was in an absolute daze, as she was breathing heavily. "...hot..."<p>

"Looks like it's taken a full effect on her," Hex chuckled, before she looked at May and the others they had brought with them. "Are the others ready, May?"

"It looks like it," May chuckled, looking around at the others.

"...then let's get started." Hex chuckled. "I'll take two of them, and you take the other two... maybe you'd like Morrigan to join you and the other?"

Morrigan slowly glanced towards May, gasping a bit.

"Nah; she's too bookish for my type," May muttered. "Why don't you take her Hex?"

"...why not?" Hex chuckled, before she took one of the other men with her. "Remember, May; you need to be relentless to get what you want." Then, she looked at the one she had taken. "...say, doesn't she seem attractive, right now?" she said in an egging tone.

"…yeah…not bad looking…" he chuckled in a daze.

"...how about you get started on her?" Hex chuckled. "Go on; she's _waiting_ for you."

Morrigan just looked back at them; breathing a bit quicker. The soldier stumbled a bit, and then he collapsed onto Morrigan, ripping her shirt open.

Morrigan let out a quick gasp. "Ah..."

The soldier proceeded to kiss her neck and his hands were about to reach somewhere…

"…AGH!"

The door was broken open and shattered into splitters due to the sheer force of someone slamming through it. May was startled at the sight of it… but her eyes widened at who it was. "Autumn?"

The moth stood there, huffing, clenched his fists.

Hex blinked, as she looked at Autumn. "...what now?"

"Autumn! Dude, you have to slow down!" Instantly, Guts stopped next to Autumn, as he looked at the scene. "...d-damn..."

Looking at Guts, Hex blinked. "...what's this?" she blinked. "I could've sworn that you drank it as well."

"Please. Any crap that alters your mind doesn't work on me!" Guts proclaimed, as he clenched his fists. "Now all of you, just stop!"

Morrigan blinked, as she glanced over at Autumn and Guts. "...ngh...?"

"…let her go…" Autumn growled, glaring up at Hex. "…let her go, or so help me…"

"Autumn, hey, calm down! We're just having a little fun here!" May uttered, going up to him to set a hand on his shoulder.

That caused Autumn to elbow May, and he elbowed her hard enough to knock her into the wall. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Autumn roared at a frightened May.

In that instant, Hex's eyes widened. _...oh, no... not again...!_

"...geez..." Guts uttered with a frightened gulp. "...uh... I'll go and help Morrigan!" As Hex was just looking at Autumn, Guts rushed over and pulled the soldier right off Morrigan. "Get off her!" The soldier came off of Morrigan easily and just passed out onto the ground.

Autumn stepped toward Hex, giving her a murderous glare. "…how could you do something like that…to all of us…?" he uttered. "…you used May just to get all of us…didn't you…?"

May looked in shock.

Hex narrowed her eyes, as she folded her arms. "...you've got some nerve..." she uttered.

"So do you…" Autumn growled, although he stumbled a little bit out of slight dizziness. He was still weak after all.

"...assuming such things... is someone paranoid, or what?" Hex scoffed. "...you won't cause any more problems; I'll lock you up before that can happen."

"What? Is that what you're going to do to the rest of us?" Autumn accused. "Just lock us all up…so we can be your sex slaves?"

May jumped to her feet. "Wait a minute…you're not going to do that…right Hex?"

Hex, however, paid no heed to May, as she cracked her neck. "...insolent little..." With that, she lunged herself right at Autumn; intending to snare Autumn within her tentacles.

"Ah- Autumn, watch out!" Guts called.

Autumn grabbed most of her tentacles, and somehow, he was able to keep them at bay.

May gasped at that.

"...you..." Hex snarled, before she tried grabbing Autumn's arms with her own arms.

Autumn wasn't able to stop that… but he WAS able to pick Hex up that way and slam her against the wall.

"AGH!" Hex coughed, before she glared at Autumn. _...oh, no... not this again!_ With a yell, she tried wrapping her tentacles around Autumn's neck.

Autumn couldn't breathe for a moment, and he almost panicked.

Then…

_C'mon weakling… you won't let her get away with hurting someone you care about, right?_

"…shut up…" Autumn uttered. "…SHUT UP!" He punched Hex in the gut to get her to let go, and then he threw her against the opposite wall, freeing himself from her grip.

"AGH!" Hex spat out some blood the moment she hit the wall, before she glared at Autumn again. "...not again... I won't let some upstart punk ruin everything for me again!" And she rushed at Autumn once more; this time intending to fully wrap him up with her tentacles, to ensure that he couldn't do anything to break free.

"…what do you mean not again? Someone stopped you before?" Autumn asked, grunting in pain.

"...that's none of your business!" Hex snarled.

"…_is that so…?" _Autumn started to yell out, and slowly, he was able to stretch his arms out to push away Hex's tentacles.

Hex's eyes widened. "...you little...!"

Autumn broke free, slipped underneath, and tackled Hex… this time, tackling her out her window.

Though she was silent, one thought raced through Hex's mind.

_God_damn it_, not again._

Finally, she crashed against the ground, letting out a pained yell; though she kept glaring defiantly at Autumn. Autumn grabbed her throat with an amazing strength, and proceeded to choke her. Gritting her teeth, Hex tried conserving her breath as much as she could, whilst trying to pry him off her.

In the meantime, Autumn felt like he wasn't himself anymore… all he could do was stare at Hex lifelessly while he continued to choke the life out of her.

_Yes, kill her…kill her for such an unforgivable act…_

"...bastard..." Hex growled, narrowing her eyes. "...just like... what she did..."

"…_**tell me…who is the one who stopped you…before I take your meaningless life…?**_" uttered Autumn in a horrifying tone.

Hex just kept glaring defiantly at Autumn. "...C... Callous."

Autumn's eyes narrowed.

_**So…she's here…**_

_What're you talking about?_

Suddenly, Autumn released Hex in shock, finally remembering something else. "Morrigan!" and he turned to fly up to where they had jumped out.

When he got back up, he was met with either bewildered stares or low, dazed groans. "...d-dude... what kinda training have you been doing?" Guts uttered a bit fearfully.

Morrigan, however, was still in a daze, as she was just weakly looking at Autumn. Autumn went to Morrigan in a hurry, picking her up and shaking her gently. "Morrigan…Morrigan! Say something!"

"...ngh..." Morrigan uttered, as she just kept looking at Autumn. "...you... Autumn..."

"...she's totally out of it." Guts murmured, as he walked over to Autumn. "You should probably get her outta here. I think me and May can get things fixed up around here in the meantime." When he said that, he shot the flamingo a look. "Right?"

"…right…" May muttered, looking away guiltily.

"…see you later then…" Autumn bid, turning and flying out with Morrigan in his arms.

"...alright..." Nodding, Guts walked over to May. "...let's get everyone to the infirmary. I bet they'll need it."

"…uh…yeah…" May uttered.

* * *

><p>Autumn eventually got far away from that place, and when he did, he landed and took a look at Morrigan. "…hey…Morrigan…c'mon, say something coherent…"<p>

Morrigan looked up at Autumn. "...it's... so hot..." she uttered.

"…is there any way I can cool you down then…?" Autumn was very worried about Morrigan…and he felt like he had never been so worried for anyone before.

"...so hot... it's burning... Autumn..." Morrigan uttered... and at that point, she wrapped her arms around Autumn; breathing heavily as she just looked at the moth.

Autumn paused a little, staring at her. "…M…Morrigan?"

"...Autumn."

And in that instant, she pulled Autumn down; letting her press her lips against his. Autumn froze in shock, not expecting that at all and not even really sure what to do while he held Morrigan. Morrigan, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what to do (even in her delirious state), as she deepened the kiss.

Autumn was still shocked, but he slowly wrapped his arms around Morrigan, pulling her closer. _What am I doing? She's drugged…she's not thinking clearly…_

_But you want her…don't you?_

Autumn made no response.

Reacting to being pulled closer, Morrigan wrapped her arms tighter around Autumn as well. Although Autumn pulled away from the kiss, looking at her. "…Morrigan…" he whispered. "…what…are you doing…?"

"...I can't help it..." Morrigan uttered, as she just looked longingly at Autumn. "...I need you..."

"…wha?...but…I…" Then Autumn felt it hit like a slap across the face. His heart pounded a hot blush to him, and he stared at Morrigan in disbelief. He could feel it…a passion growing for her, a greed for her…

"…Morrigan…" he muttered softly.

"...Autumn..." Morrigan uttered longingly.

_Yes…you want her…you need her as much as she needs you…_

And with that, Autumn pulled her into a passionate kiss. Morrigan seemed to enjoy it, as she kissed him back just as passionately. Autumn's hand crept up her back, so that he could start kissing her neck. Morrigan let out a quiet moan when he did that, as she began caressing his body. Autumn felt goose bumps when she did that, and clutched to her while he kept kissing her neck. Letting out another brief moan, Morrigan kept stroking her fingers across his body. Autumn gasped a bit and shuddered in delight. He didn't realize how good it really felt…

"…no…"

Autumn suddenly pulled away, trying to catch his breath. "…no…neither of us are thinking clearly…we shouldn't do this…"

"...Autumn... please..." Morrigan uttered, before she ran her hand down her face... which caused her to knock her own glasses off. "...I need you..."

Autumn went to pick the glasses up off the ground. "…I'm sorry Morrigan…" he muttered… and then he froze when he stared at her eyes.

"...please..." she uttered again, as she just looked at Autumn.

Once again, Autumn felt that urge… he really did want this… and it came up so suddenly, like something was controlling him…

…eventually, he dropped her glasses to the ground to hold her. "…Morrigan…"

"...Autumn..." Morrigan whispered, as she held Autumn as well. "...I need you..."

Autumn didn't know why, but he felt like he no longer had any control over himself. "…I need you too…" and he pulled Morrigan into another passionate kiss. Again, Morrigan kissed him back with equal passion. Autumn's hands crept up her back again, only this time it went underneath her clothing. With a brief shudder, Morrigan began caressing Autumn again; breathing a bit quicker with where he had his hands.

Autumn knew they couldn't really do this out here, in the snow…

He slowly started dragging her away since they were so close toward town, still kissing her. Morrigan didn't seem to mind, as she kept kissing him back. They hit a building, and Autumn felt around until he found a door. He didn't even check to see what building it was, he just opened the door and pulled themselves inside. Still, Morrigan just let Autumn lead the way in.

After Autumn closed the door, he pulled away to finally take a look at where they ended up…

…and somehow, it was what they needed… just a small room, with a lamp on an end table, and a large bed.

Autumn was shocked that they ended up in the right place somehow…

"...Autumn..." Morrigan uttered, as she took a brief look at the bed, before she looked back at the moth.

Autumn looked back at her. "…Morrigan…" and he kissed her while he dragged her over to the bed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Boy, things will be awkward for them in the morning XD<strong>_


	18. Chapter 18

"Miser!" Joy squealed, clapping her hands.

"Hello, Joy!" Miser said with a friendly smile, as she looked down at Joy. "You're looking pretty cheerful."

"Well, it _is_ the holidays; most of us are pretty cheerful as well, kekeke." Ripper noted with a slight chuckle as well.

"You can say that again." Sage noted with a smile.

Jill smiled when they all came up, and waved at them.

"Well, I see you're doing well," Belinda murmured with a chuckle.

"Business is going well, I assume?" Sage chuckled.

"...so, what do we have planned for the Christmas feast?" Miser hummed, as she rubbed her hands together. "We should get to work on that right away since the party's tonight!"

Jill nodded, and Belinda decided to scoop Joy up into her arms while they all headed upstairs into her apartment.

"Keke! I can't wait to start cooking!" Ripper chuckled.

"The same goes for the rest of us, I assume." Sage chuckled.

Once they got up there, Ripper, Miser and Jill disappeared into her kitchen. "Oh," Belinda moaned in a bit of pain since she was still an old woman, and she sat down on the couch with Joy in her lap. "May have the years passed," she chuckled, looking at Joy who sucked her thumb and stared up at Belinda cutely.

"...true enough." Sage noted with a chuckle, as she sat down next to Belinda.

Belinda smiled down at Joy. "You're just so adorable…" and Joy giggled a little bit.

Sage chuckled a little as well. "...she really is a gem."

"Hey Joy, can you say my name?" Belinda asked in amusement. "It's Belinda…"

"Bewinda!" Joy exclaimed.

Belinda chuckled. "Close enough. You're getting better at that…"

Joy bounced in her lap. "Bewinda! Bewinda!"

Sage chuckled again. "It's still adorable, no matter how many times I see it."

"So you're the one that babysits her?" Belinda asked Sage.

"That's right." Sage nodded. "The others are usually busy with either the training program or something else, so when Jill needs a hand, I'm usually always there to keep an eye on Joy."

"I'm glad," Belinda said with a cheerful smile. "I think you'll be a great influence for her…"

Sage smiled back. "Glad to hear it," she said.

"…I wonder what how she would've turned out in that village of hers…" Belinda murmured, looking at Joy again thoughtfully.

Sage hummed. "...well, her grandfather would've been there; he'd likely be a good influence on her as well..." she mused, whilst rubbing her chin. "...but it _does_ make one wonder..."

Belinda grumbled. "…why those old farts…I outta show them some manners…" And she pet Joy's head. "…well, it's a lost cause; men that old become so stubborn and ignorant that nothing moves them…"

"...you can say that again..." Sage nodded, as she folded her arms.

Then Belinda smiled. "…it's so sweet of all of you to take her in like this. I know it's not the best place for children in some cases... but Joy's always protected by someone."

"...it's the very least we can do." Sage noted with a smile. "There's no way that we'd ever turn down a friend in need."

Belinda smiled… then she looked over at the kitchen where the other three were, becoming thoughtful.

"...something on your mind?" Sage hummed, as she glanced at Belinda.

"…you would know," Belinda chuckled lightly. "…but…in some cases, you might even have to protect Joy against her own mother…"

"...right..." Sage hummed, as she nodded. "...though it's curious..." Then, she glanced at Joy. "...I don't think she's shown any sign of appearing in Joy's presence..."

"…do you know that for sure?" Belinda asked, looking back at Sage.

"...well... the times I've been around them, at least, nothing of the sort ever seemed to occur." Sage noted. "I can't say that I'm completely certain for whenever I haven't been around, though..."

Belinda looked at the kitchen again. "…she's still got a bit of a ways to go before she fully has control over herself…I still find it hard to believe that Callous is only a part of her…"

"...as hard as it is to believe, that's how it is..." Sage noted with a hum.

"…I hope she doesn't have any ill intentions about all of this…" Belinda murmured.

"...you and me, both." Sage nodded.

Then Belinda looked at Joy again. "…I just hope this child hasn't gotten any of that in her when she was born…"

Sage looked at Joy as well. "...any of Callous' malice? I have my doubts that something like that would happen."

"How do you figure that?" Belinda questioned curiously.

"...it's a gut feeling that I have." Sage shrugged. "She just doesn't give me any vibes that remind me of Callous."

"…it could just be too soon to tell…" Belinda suggested.

Sage blinked a bit, before she looked back at Joy. _...too soon, huh..._ she thought. _...I do hope nothing comes off your suspicions, mother..._

"…Oh, I didn't mean to scare you Sunrise…I suppose I'm still trying to get used to what you showed me…" Belinda murmured. "…I'm merely speaking my thoughts aloud…although with you I suppose it isn't even necessary…"

"...true enough." Sage noted with a light chuckle.

"…poor thing…" Belinda murmured, looking at Joy. "…without a father…"

Sage looked at Joy as well, before sighing. "...that is a shame, yes..."

"…but from what you've shown me, it's been a year or so later…" Belinda said. "…has Jill thought about bringing a father into her life?"

Sage hummed, as she folded her arms. "...well... it's not like she's gone out of her way to look for a father..." she mused. "...but... last year, there was this one soldier... Cowpoke..."

"Oh?" Belinda became intrigued.

"...he was a very friendly, if rough character; very similar to Joy's actual father, actually..." Sage mused. "...he and Jill became good friends; growing closer over time..."

"Well, what happened then?" Belinda asked.

"...well... they didn't get together; contrary to what I thought could've happened." Sage hummed. "They did part on very good terms, though..."

Belinda tilted her head in wondering. "Why? If they sounded so good together…"

"...I think it was because Cowpoke reminded Jill too much of Joy's father, but I can't say for sure." Sage shrugged.

"…I suppose that makes sense…" Belinda replied.

"...I do wonder what he and his friends are doing now." Sage hummed. "And not to mention Cowpoke's son, too..."

"Oh? I didn't know he had a son as well," Belinda spoke with interest.

The door opened from the end of the hall, and Belinda looked in wondering. Hunter walked into the living room. "Ah, Sage, good," he said. "I thought I'd find you here."

In his arms…he had some of the files.

Seeing them, Sage hummed. "...I get the feeling that we have some discussion to take care of?" she assumed.

"Yep," Hunter replied. "…since some of our parents showed up on the island, I started to wonder...King and Caitlin are still as clueless as ever when it's oh so obvious…so I wanted to make sure my suspicions were correct."

"...alright." Sage nodded. "Let's see what we can find out, then."

"…I looked through mine, and it talked about when they found me wandering around…" Hunter muttered. "…Yours says what you guys explained; a spy just snatched you away from her back…but when I looked at King's, it was pretty troubling…" he pulled out King's file. "Here…" and handed it to Sage.

"Let me see..." Sage hummed, as she began reading the file... and her eyes widened. "...oh, my..."

"…what is it?" Belinda asked, setting Joy on the floor to crawl around.

"...listen to this." Sage uttered. "Troops located King and an older tiger, presumed to be his father, atop a mountain... and they outright attacked them. King was taken away, while his father..." Shuddering, she shook her head. "...I can't even read it out loud. This is _appalling._"

"…I know…" Hunter muttered.

"...and it happened right in front of King... I can't imagine how traumatizing it must've been for him..." Sage murmured.

"…yeah…" Hunter held up some more files. "…these were on Ripper, Miser and Wiper."

"...I actually dread to read them..." Sage murmured, before she took those files, and began reading them.

Hunter looked away nervously while Belinda slid over to read over Sage's shoulder. "…oh my…"

"...this is..." Sage uttered, as she shook her head slowly.

"…yeah…Ripper's was pretty bad…" Hunter murmured.

"...at the very least, Wiper's isn't as disturbing..." Sage muttered, as she shook her head.

"…yeah…but Miser's was the one that I couldn't read all the way…" Hunter muttered.

"...and I can see why." Sage uttered in disgust. "To think that she was found by _HIM_, of all people..."

Hunter looked away again. "…it took her forever to get over him…and I think she still has trouble…"

Belinda's look became a glare, and she sat back in her couch. "…I can't believe they did this to all of you…" she muttered, shaking her head.

"...more like one sick man and his branch did it to all of us..." Sage murmured. "...it's a pity that he went out the way he did; I honestly think that he got off far too easy, compared to what he did."

"…how did he end up…?" Belinda asked.

"…there were twins; butterfly twins…" Hunter murmured. "…let's just say they were responsible…"

"...and leave it at that." Sage murmured. "I'd rather not think about them, either..."

"…right…" Belinda murmured.

With a hum, Sage glanced at Hunter. "...so... should we go and talk to King, to see if he remembers what his files tell?"

"…yeah…" Hunter muttered. "…I would think so."

"...then I guess it's best to get it done sooner than later." Sage nodded. "Shall we pay him a visit?"

"…I think that's the best idea," Hunter said. Then he looked over. "You okay being with Joy for a bit, Belinda?"

"Oh sure; I've been having fun with her," Belinda said with a smile, looking over to see Joy racing around in circles happily. "…she's got a lot of energy, that's for sure…"

"True enough." Sage nodded, before she stood up. "If Jill, Miser or Ripper wonder where I went, just say that me and Hunter went to visit King."

"Alright then," Belinda said with a nod.

* * *

><p>Autumn tossed and turned…he was still sweating all over, but it wasn't from any sorts of pleasure…no it was the same kind of nightmares that he had been having for months…<p>

…only…they seemed to be a lot worse now…there were horrifying things in his dreams, chasing him, mocking him…

He grunted and winced, and tried to run away from them, but at some point his eyes popped open with a gasp and he shot up from the bed in a cold sweat. He moved his legs over the edge and wiped the sweat off of his face, catching his breath.

…he had never seen anything so horrible like that…his nightmares haven't been that bad before…

…and it didn't help with the fact that he started to remember what happened last night, and the guilt set in on him. _…oh great…_ He rested his face on his hand and sighed.

"...mnh..." A soft murmur escaped Morrigan's lips, as she turned a bit in her slumber.

Autumn looked back at her, and for a moment, he couldn't help but look. In all honesty, Morrigan was actually pretty attractive…

…but still, she was drugged, and he had really no idea what he was doing…

He looked away and sighed again, remembering his first time with a chuckle. "…I wonder if you got over that Sonia…" he murmured, and then he wiped his eyes. He still didn't sleep very well.

"...mnh... hn...?" At that point, Morrigan let out a yawn. "...Autumn...?"

"…what?" Autumn asked without looking back.

"...ah- AUTUMN?" And in that instant, Morrigan shot up, whilst quickly grabbing the covers to cover herself up. "Buh- you- and I- wait- where are we?" she quickly sputtered, looking around her in bewilderment.

"…I don't know…" muttered Autumn.

"...oh gods... everything's a blur..." Morrigan uttered, as she held her face... when she realized something else. "...wait... my glasses. Why am I not wearing my glasses?"

Autumn perked up. "…I…I think you left them outside." And quickly he was out the door. "I'll be right back!"

Morrigan just watched Autumn head outside.

Eventually, Autumn made it back, and he had her glasses in his hands. "…luckily no one stepped on 'em…" he muttered, handing them back to her and then looking away shyly.

"...thanks..." Morrigan murmured, before she put her glasses on; shivering lightly due to them being cold from having lied in the snow all night. "...you must've looked into my eyes while I was drugged, huh?" she assumed.

"…yeah…I think that's what happened…" murmured Autumn, sitting back down and rubbing his brow.

"...guess I'm to blame, then..." Morrigan sighed. "...if I'm in a serious state of emotional distress, I can't stop myself from hypnotizing anyone who just glances at my eyes while I'm not wearing the glasses..." Then, she rubbed her neck. "...it's not the first time I've had that happen, either..."

"…oh?" Autumn didn't look back at her, but he did grow curious.

"...remember how I said that I found the taste of that drink familiar?" Morrigan hummed, as she took off her glasses; simply looking at them. "...in my early days as a therapist, I figured that I'd encounter a few who had been drugged and violated who'd seek therapy... but I was curious as to how effective it could actually be. So, finding the right ingredients, I made such a cocktail for myself..."

Then, she chuckled. "...boy, was I a grade A dumbass when I started out."

"…we all have our mistakes," Autumn murmured.

"...mine was self-inflicted." Morrigan chuckled. "I had to call in sick for nearly two weeks, while making sure that no one came to visit. Who knows what I could've done while under the drug's influence..." As she kept reminiscing, she shook her head. "That's not even counting what I've gotten people to do while I was either pissed off, emotional or drunk."

"…so you have to make sure to have a clear head huh?" Autumn replied.

"Basically." Morrigan nodded. "Otherwise, I could end up doing something really horrible, without even being aware of it..."

"…right…" muttered Autumn.

"...hey..." At that point, Morrigan looked back at Autumn. "...I was way out of it back when you helped me, but... you weren't hurt, were you?"

"…no, I wasn't…" Autumn muttered. "…I…" His eyes only widened when he remembered the events from last night; battling Hex. He suddenly realized how…incredibly unlikely it actually would've been to fight her. Soldiers have claimed that even if she had sick desires, Hex is still a strong titan of a soldier; one of the first generation.

"…I wasn't hurt at all…" he uttered.

Morrigan blinked. "...seriously?"

"…seriously," Autumn looked at his own two hands. "…it…it was even too easy…"

"...too easy...?" Adjusting her glasses, Morrigan looked at Autumn. "...how do you figure...?"

"…I've…I've fought Hex," Autumn replied. "…and I won…I was able to push her back enough to get you out of there…but…it all seemed too easy…"

"...why do you suppose that it was too easy?" Morrigan hummed.

"…because I don't believe that I could fight and win against someone that's been in a place like this longer than me…" Autumn muttered.

"…and I heard a voice in my head…egging me on…" he touched his head. "…something's wrong with me…"

"...a voice in your head?" Morrigan uttered. Grabbing the covers to make sure that she was covered, she got out of the bed, and walked in front of Autumn; kneeling so she could look him in his eyes. "...tell me more. What does this voice say?"

"…it…pushed me to save you; mocked me, making me feel like my mother's and sister's death was my fault…and the same would've happened to you, or worse…" Autumn muttered. "…and it…it almost pushed me to practically choke Hex to death…and it uh…" he blushed and looked away from Morrigan. "…it uh…"

"...it what...?" Morrigan uttered, as she adjusted her glasses. "...did it tell you to..." And her eyes widened a bit in realization, just as she blushed as well.

"…yeah…it pushed me to do that too…" Autumn muttered. "…on top of you hypnotizing me…"

"...hrm..." Morrigan hummed, as she adjusted her glasses again; trying to regain some composure. "...well... it's not pestering you right now, is it?"

"…no…but I remember something else…" Autumn looked back at Morrigan. "…it recognized a name… Callous… that's the other part of Jill's personality…the voice in my head recognized the name Callous…"

Morrigan blinked at that. "...how... would it be able to recognize that name?" she uttered.

Autumn tried to think.

"…I didn't hear that voice until last night…" Autumn muttered. "…but after the whole thing with Jill, I kept getting bad nightmares…and last night's nightmare was _so bad_ I still get chills thinking about it," and he shuddered.

"...this nightmare..." Morrigan began, as she looked seriously at Autumn. "...tell me... what happens in it?"

"…things are chasing me…" Autumn muttered, rubbing his brow. "…really… _scary_ things…"

Then he felt that headache and grabbed his head. "Agh…"

"Autumn..." Morrigan uttered, as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "...just... try and relax."

"…I'm trying…" Autumn muttered, shuddering. "…but those images…" They flashed so quickly through his head he was starting to get dizzy, which made his headache even worse. "…agh…ugh…"

Looking at him in concern, Morrigan narrowed her eyes. "...look, you don't need to think about it. I think you need to lie down and get some rest..."

"…but…but that's not it Morrigan…" Autumn uttered.

"…I have no control…"

Suddenly, he grabbed Morrigan and somehow he was able to pin her back down onto the bed. Morrigan let out a startled gasp, as she looked up at Autumn in shock.

_You spoke too much…_

_Shut up! Don't you dare do anything to her!_

_Oh?_

Autumn thrust his lips onto Morrigan's. "MF?" This time, her reaction was not of bliss, but of shock, as she tried breaking away from him.

_I said DON'T TOUCH HER!_

"Pah!" Autumn gasped when he broke away, and threw himself off the bed to free Morrigan. But his splitting headache got the best of him and he screamed out, clutching his head. "WHAT ARE YOU?"

_I thought I told you that I am you…_

_You can't POSSIBLY be me! I would NEVER do that to her!_

Sitting up, Morrigan just looked at him with worry in her eyes. "...Autumn..." she uttered.

_Why am I having these nightmares? Why are you controlling me? HOW are you controlling me?_

Autumn shot a glare back at Morrigan and he shot forward, grabbing her throat. Gasping in surprise, Morrigan clutched at the hand clutching her throat; trying to pry it away from her. Autumn's eyes widened and he tried to use his other hand to pry of the one choking her.

_Leave her alone! She didn't do anything to even deserve any of this!_

_You shouldn't have told her… _

_She's a friend! The only friend I've ever had in this god forsaken place! _

_A friend? That wasn't what you thought last night…_

With a yell, Autumn was able to yank away his hand and throw himself on the ground again. Gasping for air, Morrigan looked back at Autumn again.

…_there's gotta be a connection…the nightmares didn't get really bad until after I found out all that stuff about Jill…_

_No, It's just your guilt rolled up into one big wad, driving you crazy…you're scaring your "so-called" friend because of it._

Then it hit Autumn. His eyes widened when one image shot out at him, watching that monitor with Metal Sonic. That creature was bad…but that vampire…

His headache hurt so much, he grunted and groaned in pain, clutching his head while he threw himself against the wall. "Autumn!" Quickly, Morrigan got off the bed, before she tried grabbing Autumn. "Please, get a hold of yourself!" she pleaded.

Autumn pushed her away. "Stay back! I don't want you getting hurt!"

Another image hit him; one where Metal touched his shoulder.

..._that's it…_

Morrigan looked distressed. "...but... what if I don't want you to get hurt, either?" she uttered.

Autumn actually stopped for a moment and looked at Morrigan…

…then a sharp pain struck him and he turned away, gritting his teeth.

_You're controlling me aren't you…Deity Novagod?_

_I'm not him, but I am an essence of him inside you…it seems the detective in you isn't as incompetent as I thought…_

A black aura surrounded Autumn and he screamed, falling to his knees. There wasn't just pain in his mind…there was pain all over his body. "Autumn!" Morrigan yelled in panic; frightened by that aura... but she didn't run away. _...no... he needs someone to help him..._

With a resolute nod, she knelt down by him, and wrapped her arms around him; trying to comfort him as best she could. _...I have to help him somehow..._

Autumn stopped screaming at that…everything almost seemed to stop at that, except the pain…only it wasn't physical pain that he was feeling anymore…

"…now…I understand…"

Tears fell to the ground, and Autumn clutched to Morrigan.

"…now I understand…why Metal separated himself from the rest of the world…why he took that sacrifice…why he changed so drastically…he was doing a favor for the entire world keeping Deity Novagod locked up inside him…he would've been the only one that could take so much torture…and still be able to function…but even that's taking his toll on him…"

Morrigan closed her eyes, as she just kept holding Autumn. _...say what you need to say, Autumn... let it all out..._

"…and Jill…she endured so much suffering…she endured something like this for much longer that I have…" Autumn muttered shuddering and holding Morrigan close. "…I'm just a miserable, ignorant sap that didn't care about anything else but how I felt…"

Eventually, without letting go of him, Morrigan glanced at Autumn from the corner of her eye, to see if he looked like he'd recover.

That black aura of his looked like it was starting to fade away, the more he wept and talked.

"Those nightmares only kept reminding me of my pain, and how insignificant I was…" he uttered; more tears dropping to the ground. "…all those things, haunting me…"

"…worst of all…I felt alone."

And finally, the aura was gone.

_...he felt alone..._ Morrigan thought, as she briefly glanced away. "...Autumn... you're not alone." she murmured.

Autumn slowly looked back up at Morrigan silently.

"...no matter what nightmares might affect you, and no matter what this voice tries to tell you... you're not alone." Morrigan said a bit louder, before she pulled away to look at Autumn. "...at the very least... you have me."

"…you're just saying that because you're a therapist," Autumn muttered, looking at the ground.

"...no." Morrigan said, as she placed a hand under Autumn's chin; lifting it to make him look at her. "What I'm saying right now has nothing to do with my profession." Then, she placed a hand on her own chest. "...I'm here for you, Autumn. I really wish to help you through this..."

"…really…?" muttered Autumn. "…even if…you know…" and he blushed a little bit.

Morrigan blushed a bit, too, but she managed to break into a smile. "...even then." she nodded.

Autumn blinked a little bit, staring at Morrigan.

Looking back at Autumn, Morrigan blinked as well. "...is... something the matter?" she inquired.

"…nothing…not really…" Autumn murmured, looking away.

"...come on; you can tell me anything." Morrigan said with a slight smile, as she turned his gaze towards herself again. "I'll listen."

"…I guess…even with all the drama that happened…" he muttered. "…I do kinda…have feelings for you…though I'm still not really sure if they're natural…or…part of what's going on…"

"...I see..." Morrigan nodded, before she felt her own chest again. "...well... I can say one thing for sure, at least..." Then, with a smile, she placed that hand on Autumn's chest. "...I kinda have feelings for you, too... and I'm pretty sure that they're natural."

Autumn smiled a little bit.

"…well…uh…maybe you ought to get dressed…" he uttered in embarrassment.

Instantly, Morrigan's entire face turned beet red. "...um... yes." she nodded, before she stood up and began gathering her clothes together in a pile; followed by her putting them on.

Autumn stood up and put his hand on the wall.

…_it stopped for now…thanks to Morrigan…_ he thought. _…but who's to say that it won't attack me again…when I least expect it…?_

After she finished getting dressed, Morrigan looked back at Autumn. "...you'll be okay for now, right?" she inquired.

"…I don't know…" Autumn muttered, looking back at her.

"…but…it's Christmas…so I won't be depressed," he said. "…or…I'll at least try not to…"

"...right." Morrigan nodded, smiling a bit. "...and, if you feel like it..." Then, she looked away with a bashful look, whilst scratching her cheek. "...maybe we could... well... spend time together later...?"

Autumn smiled a bit more. "…sure…"

Morrigan smiled as well. "...okay." Then, she looked around her. "...you know... it just hit me. Whose room _is_ this, anyway?"

Autumn shrugged. "…I don't know…but we probably should leave."

"...we should probably tidy up after us, first." Morrigan noted. "I don't think whoever sleeps here would be too happy to see their room in this state." After saying that, she took the covers and began tidying up the bed.

"…right," Autumn agreed, going to help her.

* * *

><p>Hunter and Sage were walking up their way toward King's place that afternoon. Hunter looked at Sage. "…should he show him the others as well as his own?" he asked nervously.<p>

"...I don't think that would be necessary at the moment." Sage noted. "For now, we'll just focus on his own past."

"…alright…" Hunter murmured, just as they were coming up on his door. Then Hunter knocked on it.

It took a while before the door opened, as the two were greeted by King, who just looked at them. "...what's up?" he hummed.

"King..." Sage began, as she rubbed her neck. "...we'd like to talk to you a bit."

"...uh... sure." King nodded, as he allowed them to come inside. "What's on your minds?"

"Some pretty heavy stuff," Hunter said, walking in with the file in his hand for King to see.

"...ah." King hummed, before he closed the door after them. When they took their seats, he sat down as well. "Alright... go on."

"...right." Sage nodded. "Hunter, begin."

"Well, if Belinda is Sage's mother, and Bruno's my father, then I figured that Caitlin would have to be your mother, King," Hunter said.

King blinked a bit. "...uh... you serious?"

"Come on, King; it's blatantly obvious." Sage noted. "Caitlin's practically a mirror image of yourself... only older, and a woman."

Still, King just blinked. "...how do you figure?"

And Sage smacked her own forehead. "...I swear, sometimes..."

Hunter sighed.

"…King…how did GUN take you away?"

King froze, as he looked at Hunter and Sage. "...why..."

"...just answer the question, King. Please." Sage said, as she looked sincerely at him.

"...uh..." King blinked, before he looked down at the ground. "...man... it's been a long time since that day... it's pretty vague, but..."

"…well, if you don't remember…it's written down in here…" and Hunter offered King the file.

Taking it, King looked through it a few times. "...yeah... yeah, it's coming back to me..."

"...does it add up?" Sage inquired. "What you remember... does it match what the file says?"

"...to a point." King hummed. "...Dad wanted to take me for a hiking trip, which we usually did at least once per month. We were gonna climb the highest mountain near our hometown..." Then, he rubbed his neck; a slightly pained expression growing on him.

"…yeah?" Hunter urged.

"...we were jumped." King murmured. "Out of nowhere, these troops showed up and began opening fire on us. We just barely got out of the way of the first volley..."

"...King..." Sage uttered.

"...Dad knew the layout of the mountain better than others, so he took me on his back, and began rushing through a path he knew about. With the heavy gear that the troops were carrying, they'd have a harder time following us..." King continued explaining, as he looked down at the floor.

Hunter waited for King to continue.

"...but in the end, it didn't help." King murmured. "They were simply too numerous, and overwhelmed us... they beat my Dad up pretty bad, and began taking me away..." At that point, he slowly began crushing the file in his grip, as he grit his teeth.

Hunter set a hand on King's shoulder.

"...but Dad... wasn't gonna let them take me away..." he murmured. "...he... all the way, until the bitter end... fought those bastards; trying to save me from 'em..." King eventually closed his eyes. "...not once did he turn his back on them... not once did he ever stand down... not a single, solitary time did he ever give up... _that's_ what you call a hero."

Hunter pulled something out, but he kept it concealed in his hand. "…and there was something else…right?"

"...something else..." King uttered, as he held his head. "...I... I think, while Dad was running through the path, with me on his back... I... I think I dropped something, but... I can't remember what it was..."

"…do you think it was this?"

Hunter opened his hand and showed King what it was; the amulet that belonged to Caitlin.

Seeing that, King blinked. "...that's..." he uttered, as he just looked at the amulet. "...I... yeah... I remember that..." In that instant, his eyes widened, before he looked at Hunter. "...where did you...?"

"…Caitlin had it," Hunter said. "…she said that long ago, her son and husband went on a hiking trip, and before they left, she gave her son this charm for good luck…when they never came back, she went to look for them on the mountain, and all she was able to find was this…ever since then, she's had it."

"…and it sounds like your stories match…" Hunter finished.

With widened eyes, King held his head; looking away from Hunter.

"...so now you know." Sage hummed.

"...that's..." King uttered, as he slowly shook his head. "...does... does Caitlin know about this?"

"No," Hunter replied. "I wanted to make sure the stories fit before I'd tell her anything…and to be honest, it would be more fitting for you to see her instead of me."

"...you got a point, there..." King nodded. "...man... it's kinda weird; having this dropped on me right as Christmas is upon us..."

"…but to know that you still have a mom is still a good Christmas gift, don't you think?" mused Hunter.

"...it... it really is." King eventually nodded.

"...so... are you going to see her?" Sage hummed.

"...you know... I think I will." King said with a slight smile, before he took the amulet. "If you'll excuse me." And he headed outside.

Hunter looked over at Sage. "Should we follow him?"

"...nah." Sage hummed with a slight smile. "I think he should do this on his own."

"…alright then…" Hunter said, walking out. "…guess we should just drop by Jill's and help set up then…"

* * *

><p>That night, the annual Christmas party was a blast. This time, it was at Jill's place, and everyone was there having all the fun talking to each other. The most talkative ones there were King and Caitlin, who were both telling various wild stories to those who wanted to listen.<p>

Bruno was grinning at most of the stories, mostly because they sounded fun. "…He did _what _now?" he asked with a laugh at one of Caitlin's stories.

"You shoulda seen Joy on her first birthday," laughed Ani. "She looked so adorable!"

"You can say _that_ again." Sonia chuckled.

"I tell ya, it was something else!" King laughed as well.

Jill would've chuckled if she could, and she looked over at Joy who was once again marveling at the Christmas tree.

"You all have so much energy," chuckled Belinda. "I wish I could keep up with all of you…"

"That's the thing; _you can!_" uttered Ani. "I've seen you fight before; you can kick butt!"

"Oh come now; ladies mustn't talk like that," tsked Belinda.

"...you'd be surprised how many there are on the island who don't bother talking like a proper lady." Queen mused with a minor chuckle. "It's just how things go."

"Besides, she's absolutely right!" Caitlin nodded. "You got a lot of fight left in ya, I can tell!"

Sage chuckled a bit as well. "Coming from you, I take it that it was meant as a compliment."

Belinda chuckled as well. "I'll take it as a compliment then."

Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door.

Hunter looked at the door. "Wonder who that could be…"

"I'll get it!" Sonia called, as she headed towards the door; opening it.

"…oh…hi Sonia…"

Jill's ears perked when she heard that voice, and she walked over next to Sonia to see Autumn and Morrigan standing there.

"...Autumn? Morrigan?" Sonia blinked. "What're you two doing here?" she inquired curiously.

"...well, wishing you a merry Christmas, for one thing." Morrigan noted with a smile.

"...oh, yeah; guess that _does_ make sense." Sonia hummed, before chuckling.

Jill was shocked to see Autumn and Morrigan there, but before she knew it, Joy toddled right past her and stopped in front of Autumn and Morrigan with a big smile. "Hi!" she exclaimed.

"…hi Joy…" muttered Autumn with a small smile.

"Hello, Joy." Morrigan said with a more cheerful tone, as she gave Joy a nod.

"...so, you two are just walking about on your own?" Sonia assumed.

"...basically, yes." Morrigan nodded.

"Hm..." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her chin in thought.

Jill looked at them, Autumn slightly looking uneasy for some reason. Eventually though, she pulled out her notepad and wrote something.

_Would you both like to come in?_ Jill asked in writing.

Morrigan blinked at that. "...uh... are you sure?" she blinked.

"...well... I was actually going to suggest it, too." Sonia eventually said. "I mean, you're gonna catch a cold if you keep walking about in the snow... not to mention, we've got more than enough food to go around."

Hearing that, Morrigan glanced at Autumn to see what he would say to this.

"…gee…I don't know…" murmured Autumn, rubbing his neck nervously. Then someone took his hand and he shot a startled look at Joy who smiled at him sweetly.

"Come in!" Joy insisted with a big smile.

Autumn couldn't help but stare at this child. He had no idea why…but when he looked at her and that sweet smile…he wasn't all that nervous anymore…eventually, he smiled too and he stepped in. "…okay…we'll come in," Autumn said.

"Yay!" cheered Joy.

Morrigan chuckled a little at that. "Well, if she insists..." she mused, before stepping in as well.

Jill smiled as well, and went back into the living room along with Morrigan and Sonia, while Joy continued to stare up at Autumn.

"…what is it?" Autumn asked curiously, looking down at Joy.

Joy only kept smiling. "…don't be sad no more…"

Autumn's eyes widened. "…hm?"

"...Autumn?" Morrigan called to him from the living room. "Come on; hurry on in!"

"…oh, right!" Autumn uttered. But Joy put a hand at his waist and stopped him. "…what's up Joy?" he whispered, looking down at her… and then his eyes widened.

He saw her hands glow just a tiny bit with a white light…and it was dissipating a black mist that came out of him. He felt a slight pain all over him and he winced, but eventually it was all gone, and that glow from Joy's hands went away.

Autumn blinked, and looked at her again wide eyed. Joy smiled even more. "…it won't hurt no more…"

"Hey, what's keeping you two?" Hunter asked, walking down the hall up to them, not noticing what happened beforehand.

"..uh… nothing," Autumn said, while Joy pulled him by the hand into the living room.

"I guess Joy just wanted to talk to him a bit." Miser assumed with a light chuckle.

Sage let out a brief chuckle, as she glanced at the two of them... and though it wasn't apparent to anyone else, she grew a bit concerned when she looked at Autumn, and a bit curious when she looked at Joy. _...was that... and did she...? It couldn't..._ she thought.

Autumn sat down in an empty chair and Joy hopped up onto his lap to his surprise.

"Looks like she likes you!" chuckled Bruno.

"…yeah…I guess she does…" Autumn smiled a bit, and held her on his lap to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"I think it's pretty obvious that she likes you, Autumn," Sonia noted with a slight chuckle and a smile.

"It's nice that you came," Belinda said. "We're glad to have more company here, after all…"

"...well, it's good to be here." Morrigan noted; giving Belinda a brief nod.

As the night went on, Autumn found that he was enjoying himself more and more around these people. They had interesting stories to tell, and even much more, they were interesting people themselves. Just as he suspected, Caitlin was indeed King's mother and it sounded like they had just found that out earlier today. It didn't matter, since they all talked to each other like they were just one big family.

Autumn looked over at Jill, who was smiling at all of them. He smiled himself. _…well…at least you're not alone Jill…_ he thought. _…you have a bunch of friends that got your back when you're in trouble…_ Autumn pet Joy's head. _…I wish I could be that lucky…most people I've met either don't like me or think I'm crazy for what I've been doing with myself all these years…_

Autumn suddenly noticed that Joy was fast asleep on his lap, and she was sucking on her thumb, cuddled up to him.

"Awwwwwww…" cooed Ani when she saw that.

"...now that's adorable." Morrigan mused with a light chuckle.

"…maybe I should lay her down in her room," Autumn chuckled, standing up.

"I can show you where it is." Miser said with a nod, as she stood up as well. "Just follow me." And she headed for Joy's room.

Autumn followed Miser, looking at Joy with a smile. "…she's adorable," he chuckled.

"You can say that again." Miser chuckled as well, before she opened up a door leading into a room. "Here's her room."

Autumn walked in, looking around. The walls were painted green and there were lots of pretty looking mobiles hanging around the room. Her bed was a crib in the corner of the room and he walked over to set her down in it. Joy gave a sigh of content and rolled over to rest, while Autumn pulled the blanket up over her.

"...it really looks nice in here." Miser hummed, as she looked around in the room. "Queen and Ripper both came up with it."

Autumn chuckled. "I wouldn't think Queen and Ripper would come up with something like this," he mused, looking at her.

"Well, they did." Miser chuckled. "Hard to believe, I know."

"…You all sure do a lot huh?" Autumn asked. "It's just the six of you really running the place…"

"...well, we have our own talents, so it works out." Miser noted with a smile. "Believe me, I don't think we could've pulled it off without sticking together."

"…how long have you known King and his group?" Autumn asked curiously.

"...um... nearly all my life," Miser said with a shrug. "I've known them ever since I was a child."

"Wow, that long?" Autumn asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Miser nodded. "We've been through a lot together... and honestly, I wouldn't wanna trade it away for anything else."

Autumn smiled. "…you're that close to them?"

"Yeah." Miser nodded. "They're the closest I have to a family." With that, she headed back into the living room.

"…the closest you have to a family…" Autumn murmured in wondering, taking one glance at the sleeping Joy. Then he left and joined everyone else in the living room.

Eventually it was getting really late…

"…that food was great," Ani said with a grin. "You guys did a good job!"

"Kekekeke!" Ripper laughed. "Don't mention it!"

"Well, we have to; it was delicious." Sage hummed with a light chuckle.

Hunter yawned. "I think I'm starting to get a bit sleepy…"

"Not me!" Bruno said. Then he smirked at Caitlin. "I could go all night long!"

"Oh, really?" Caitlin laughed, as she glanced back at Bruno. "Someone's gotta hold you to that!"

And instantly, King let out a brief groan. That slight awkward feeling he had back when the new recruits first arrived? Now that he _knew_ that his own mother was flirting with Hunter's dad, it was _beyond_ awkward.

"Dad!" Hunter groaned.

"What?" chuckled Bruno innocently, shrugging. "I can't have fun?"

"…I don't get it," Ani muttered blankly.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "This is my daughter…"

"...so? I don't see a problem at all." Caitlin chuckled.

"But we do." King groaned.

"It bugs me to be honest," Hunter added.

"Oh what's wrong? Tell your old man," laughed Bruno.

"My Dad's flirting with my best friend's Mom!" Hunter uttered. "That's just _wrong!"_

"...still not seeing a problem." Caitlin laughed.

"Again, _we do, mom._" King groaned once more.

"Oh, relax; I'm just teasing you..." Caitlin chuckled. "...or am I?"

"I'm just teasing _her_," Bruno chuckled, pointing at Caitlin.

"Oh, you." Caitlin chuckled.

"Geez; why don't you two get a room?" Sonia quipped with a brief laugh.

Hunter clutched his head. "NO! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET THOSE IMAGES OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PUT THAT IN OUR HEADS, SONIA?" King yelled, as he clutched his own head.

"Hey, if they get to tease you, it's fair game for the rest of us." Sonia chuckled.

With a brief laugh, Sage looked at the others. "Alright; I think we should head home, now. I'm sure that Jill would like to go to sleep as well." she said with a smile.

Jill nodded, and she still would've laughed if she could.

"Yeah, I'm getting out before things get worse…" muttered Hunter, standing up. "C'mon Ani."

"but what was all that about?" Ani asked, following him.

"Once I explain Ani…" muttered Hunter. "…you'll understand."

Once they were gone, Autumn chuckled. "I bet that'll be fun to tell her…"

"It would certainly be awkward to deal with." Morrigan noted.

"You can say _that_ again." King murmured. "I'm heading off. You all take care." And with that, he left.

"...we should get going as well." Miser nodded. "Ripper, you coming?"

"Kekeke; sure thing!" Ripper nodded, before he and Miser left the room.

"...I suppose I'll be going as well." Queen nodded, before she headed for the door as well. "Later."

Giving her a nod, Sonia then looked at Jill. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow." she said with a brief nod, before heading for the door.

"Well then," Bruno stood up and stretched. "I suppose I'll head out too!" And before he headed out, he did something unexpected.

He gave Caitlin a spank.

"See you later!" and with that, he was out the door laughing.

"...oh, you little horndog!" Caitlin laughed, before she ran out after Bruno.

"...well, that certainly was amusing." Sage noted with a chuckle.

"Good thing they waited until King and Hunter left," Autumn laughed, actually finding it amusing.

Morrigan couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well.

"...well, I suppose we shouldn't keep you up." Sage mused, as she stood up, before giving Jill a slight nod. "We'll be going now."

Jill nodded back, and watched Autumn stand up and walk to her. "…thanks for letting us stay for a bit," he said with a smile. Jill nodded back with a smile of her own.

Autumn was glad not to see Jill upset or angry at him. In some ways, it was relieving… "…well, see ya," he said, turning to leave with Morrigan and Sage.

Jill waved them all goodbye.

Morrigan gave Jill a wave as well before they headed outside.

Autumn looked back when they were outside, mostly thinking about Joy. _…that girl…_ he thought, _…if Jill had powers…then she'd probably have them too…_ and he looked ahead where he was walking. _…she's not even two years old and she…_

_...she what? _Sage's voice suddenly uttered in his head. _So I was right. Something _did_ happen out in the hall._

"AGH!" Autumn jumped when he heard that.

Morrigan quickly glanced at Autumn. "What's wrong?"

"…I heard another voice in my head…" he uttered.

"...another voice?" Morrigan uttered. "What did it say?"

"…it sounded like Sage," Autumn muttered.

"...Sage?" Morrigan uttered. "But... that can't be; she went off on her own not too long ago."

"…I'm not sure either…" Autumn muttered, wiping his brow. "…I'm done with all these voices in my head…" he moaned.

_...not until you answer my question,_ the voice said again.

…_what question?_ Autumn wondered.

_...what happened out in the hall between you and Joy?_

_..to be honest, I'm not even sure myself,_ Autumn replied. _Her hands glowed…and after that, I feel better than I've felt in months…_

_...her... hands glowed?_ The voice was quiet for a bit. _...that's... curious..._

…_I don't understand it myself,_ Autumn replied.

_...better not to try understanding it, then._ Sage sighed. _You and Morrigan have a merry Christmas, alright? And... sorry for bugging you; I was just curious about that._

_...right…you have a Merry Christmas too,_ Autumn replied. _…and give me some warning before you talk to me through my head at least…_

_I will._ Sage chuckled. _Not giving any warnings is a bad habit of mine, though._

_I'll keep that in mind…_ "…Well, it's Christmas Eve, Morrigan…" Autumn started, looking around. "…you got any ideas on how to spend it?"

Morrigan blinked, before she scratched her cheek. "...um... nothing comes to mind." she hummed. "What about you, Autumn?"

"…nothing to my mind either…" Autumn muttered. "…I guess we can just walk and talk?"

"...I suppose." Morrigan nodded.

"…you…got anything to talk about…?" Autumn asked.

"...well..." Morrigan hummed, before she glanced at Autumn with a smile. "...you looked like you had fun tonight."

"…yeah…" Autumn said with a small smile. "…I didn't even think I would, but…"

"...it was... kind of a nice change of pace." Morrigan noted.

Autumn looked at Morrigan blankly. "…really…?"

"Yeah," Morrigan nodded. "I haven't really seen you just... let loose and laugh before. You seemed so genuinely happy, compared to how things have been the past months..."

"…yeah…" murmured Autumn strangely.

"...what are your thoughts on it?" Morrigan hummed curiously, as she looked at Autumn with some intrigue.

"…it felt good to smile…" Autumn admitted.

Morrigan smiled at hearing that. "I know, right?"

"…come to think of it…" Autumn muttered. "…I don't feel dizzy, or ill, or anything…"

"...really?" Morrigan blinked.

"…yeah…" Autumn looked at Morrigan. "…I feel better than I have in months…"

Again, Morrigan smiled. "...I'm glad to hear that."

Autumn smiled back at Morrigan.

"Looks like you're getting into the whole smiling business, now." Morrigan quipped, as she rubbed her neck sheepishly.

"…yeah…" Autumn continued to smile at her, and just then, he stopped walking.

Morrigan stopped as well. "...hm?"

Autumn still stood there, looking at Morrigan now.

"...is... something on your mind?" Morrigan inquired, as she looked back at Autumn.

"…just this."

And Autumn stepped up to her, took her by her chin, and put his lips on hers. Morrigan's eyes widened a slight bit, as she just stood there.

Eventually, Autumn broke away, looking back at Morrigan; her chin still in his hand.

"...uh- um..." Morrigan uttered in a slightly perturbed tone. "...you..."

Autumn nudged his head up, "Mistletoe."

Sure enough, when Morrigan looked, there was mistletoe hanging on the lamp.

"...o-oh," Morrigan blinked. "...I... didn't notice that..."

Autumn smiled a little bit.

Clearing her throat, Morrigan adjusted her glasses a bit. "...well... to make it fair..."

And she took hold of Autumn's chin, and pulled him into a kiss as well. Autumn was a bit surprised this time, but it wasn't like how Morrigan reacted. When she eventually pulled away, a light blush colored Morrigan's cheeks; though she still smiled a bit. Autumn's smile grew.

"…oh c'mere you."

He took her into his arms and pulled her into another kiss. Being a bit more prepared for it, Morrigan wrapped her arms around Autumn and kissed him back. While Autumn got lost kissing her, he started to think to himself.

…_I don't know what she did…and I don't know if that voice in my head will come back…but…I think these are natural feelings after all, _he thought.

After a while of their make-out, Morrigan pulled away to look at him. "...um... should we find someplace a bit more... private?" she suggested.

"…oh! Right…" Autumn uttered. He took her by the hand and started walking off with her. Morrigan simply followed him.

* * *

><p>"…Charon…are you in here?"<p>

The dragon slowly blinked, before his gaze directed itself towards the mouth of the cave, where he saw a familiar silhouette. "...Oblivion..." he uttered.

Oblivion looked up at Charon and smiled. "…I got you a Christmas present…"

"...a... present...?" Charon uttered, as he looked down at Oblivion.

Oblivion nodded. "I have it behind my back here. I'd like you to close your eyes." Charon blinked, before he complied; closing his eyes.

Eventually, Charon felt something very soft and warm placed around him. Charon would've blinked, but he didn't; as Oblivion hadn't told him to open his eyes, yet.

"…you can open your eyes now."

And Charon did so. "...so... why do I feel a bit warmer...?" he uttered, tilting his head.

"Look around you," Oblivion said.

Blinking, he did so... and his eyes widened a bit. "...it's..."

"…a blanket," Oblivion said with a smile. Wrapped around Charon was a very large quilt; big enough to wrap around him and keep him warm.

Charon could only blink. "...how... did you get a hold of this...?" he uttered, before looking at Oblivion. "...the only one big enough for a blanket like this is me, so..."

"…I got help to make it…" Oblivion said. "…I took a few blankets and someone here was able to stitch them all together."

"...really...?" Charon hummed. "...well... thank you, Oblivion..." He actually smiled a bit. "It's... warm." After saying that, however, his smile fell. "...but... I didn't get you anything..."

Oblivion smiled this time. "…knowing you're safe is the best gift I can think of."

Again, Charon smiled. "...that's so kind of you..." he said.

"…is there anything else I can get you?" Oblivion asked.

"...for the moment... this is enough." Charon hummed with a slight nod.

"...so, you're both getting into the spirit of the holidays, eh?"

Hearing that, Charon looked back towards the mouth of the cave, where he saw Spiel standing; holding a large bag over his shoulder. "Glad to see ya both smilin' for a change." he mused with a chuckle.

Oblivion blinked at him. "…hello Spiel."

"...what are you doing here?" Charon hummed.

"Oh, nothing much; just figured I'd drop off a small gift while I was in the neighborhood." With that, Spiel walked into the cave, and set the bag down on the ground. "This is for Charon. Go on; open it." he chuckled.

Charon blinked, before he looked at Oblivion.

Oblivion shared a look with him, and eventually, she went over to open the bag.

As it turned out, the bag was practically filled to the brim with various foods; lots and lots of meat, to be exact. "You can't have a merry Christmas without a Christmas feast, ya know." Spiel laughed.

Charon could only blink at that. "...that's... a _lot_ of food..." he uttered, before looking back at the pig. "...where did you get all of this?"

"I usually stock up on food for the holidays." Spiel chuckled. "But I figured I could give part of it away; since it's Christmas, and all."

Oblivion looked up at Spiel. "…thank you."

"Eh, don't mention it." Spiel chuckled. "By the by, I got you something, too, Oblivion." And with that, he held a flute out to the unicorn. "Wouldn't be fair if I didn't get both of ya something."

Oblivion blinked at it, and she took it into her hands, looking at it.

"...well, I don't really know if you're the musical type or not, but hey; a present's a present, isn't it?" Spiel chuckled. "You two make sure to have a pleasant night."

"...what about you, Spiel?" Charon hummed, as he tilted his head. "Who are you going to spend Christmas with?"

"No one," Spiel shrugged, before he began walking off. "That's how it's always been... and I'm no good at dropping old habits." he laughed.

Oblivion only watched Spiel walk off with some puzzlement.

"...he's... certainly unique..." Charon hummed. "...wonder why that is..."

"…I don't know," Oblivion said.

Then she shivered a little. "…it's cold…"

Looking at Oblivion, Charon hummed. "...perhaps..." he began. "...you could warm up under the blanket?" he eventually suggested.

Oblivion looked back at Charon. "…I suppose," and she stepped over toward him.

Charon simply lied down, so the blanket would properly reach Oblivion. Oblivion sat and wrapped herself up in the blanket next to Charon. "…that's better…" she said, smiling. Charon smiled a bit as well.

* * *

><p>Bruno was laughing because Caitlin had yet to catch up to him.<p>

"You get back here!" he could hear Caitlin call after him with a laugh.

"You still have to catch me!" he called back.

Sure, the two of them were acting quite childish despite her age, but they didn't care.

"Oh, I'm gonna catch you, so you'd better stay alert!" she called back to him.

Bruno looked back and stuck out his tongue at her while he disappeared into the woods.

"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Caitlin laughed, before she charged into the woods as well. "You can't hide forever!"

Caitlin was able to see Bruno while she chased him, but when she shot through some brush, he suddenly had disappeared.

With a slight smirk, she looked around her. "Alright; where'd you run off to, now?"

"…well, I didn't run…"

Caitlin suddenly looked up, to see Bruno dive at her from the trees.

"...oh, is that how you wanna play?"

With a grin, Caitlin quickly ran to the side, so that Bruno would miss her.

"WAH!" Bruno landed on the ground instead.

With a wide grin, Caitlin decided to turn the tables; by pouncing on Bruno while he was down. "GOTCHA!"

Bruno wasn't able to stop her, so Caitlin successfully pinned him down after they rolled over a little bit.

Laughing, Caitlin just looked down at Bruno. "You're not going anywhere, now."

"…looks like it," chuckled Bruno.

"So, you gonna apologize for spanking me back there?" Caitlin chuckled.

Bruno looked away with a smirk. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." Caitlin chuckled. "You're not wriggling yourself outta this one."

"Oh?"

Bruno grabbed Caitlin and he was able to roll over and pin her to the ground. "There! What do you have to say for that?" he laughed.

"...two things." Caitlin chuckled. "This!" And she wrapped her legs around Bruno. "And this!" she added, before pushing herself up so that she pinned Bruno down against the ground again. "Was that a satisfying answer?" she laughed.

"…maybe…" Bruno chuckled lightly, looking up at her.

"Oho?" With a smirk, Caitlin leaned closer to Bruno. "What _would_ be a satisfying answer, then?"

"This."

Bruno was able to lean up to her and peck her on the lips quickly. Then he laid back down with a smirk. Though a bit taken off guard, Caitlin quickly smirked back at him. "You're right; that's a _lot_ more satisfying." And she quickly pecked Bruno on the lips as well.

Bruno blinked in surprise, but then he smirked again. "You don't think we're too old for this kind of thing?" he asked jokingly.

"Not in the least." Caitlin replied with a light chuckle.

"Good," Bruno replied, "Because I feel so young right now."

"...you know I have the same feeling." Caitlin chuckled.

Bruno leaned up again and kissed Caitlin. In turn, Caitlin began kissing him back. Bruno put his hands on her hips while he kissed her. Caitlin, on the other hand, trailed her hands along Bruno's thighs as she kissed him. Bruno shivered, rubbing Caitlin's back. Caitlin shuddered a bit with excitement, as she wrapped her arms around Bruno so she could rub his back as well. Bruno was able to take Caitlin and lay her down on her side, stroking her thighs. Caitlin, in turn, took the opportunity to run her fingers along Bruno's back; up along his neck. Bruno sighed in content at that, holding her cheek while he deepened the kiss. Shivering in excitement again, Caitlin moved one of her hands to the back of Bruno's head; holding it so she could pull him closer and deepen the kiss as well.

They were like that for a while…

Eventually, Bruno broke with a sigh. "…this brings back some memories…" he whispered.

"...memories...?" Caitlin hummed.

"Yeah," Bruno replied. "…'bout me n' my wife…"

"...hm..." Caitlin hummed. "...yeah... it's bringing back memories of me and my husband, too..." she nodded.

"…guess the two of us have been widows for a long time, huh?" Bruno supposed.

"...seems like it." Caitlin nodded.

"…I haven't even looked at another woman until I first came here…" Bruno chuckled, looking over at her.

"...what a coincidence." Caitlin chuckled. "I haven't looked at other men until now, either."

"But I couldn't help it; something about you just set me off," Bruno chuckled.

"...wonder what that might've been." Caitlin chuckled. "And again; something about you set me off, as well."

"Oh, is that so?" mused Bruno.

"Yup." Caitlin nodded. "Don't know what it might've been, though, but it was _definitely_ something."

"…yeah…" Bruno smirked at Caitlin.

Caitlin smirked back at him, before she gave him a quick peck again. Bruno chuckled a bit, and then kissed her back. With a slight chuckle, Caitlin pulled Bruno closer, as she kissed him deeper. Bruno pulled her closer as well, stroking a finger across the side of her figure.

* * *

><p>"…HEX!"<p>

May went storming into the foyer of the manor, looking around. No reply; Hex didn't seem to be on the first floor.

May grumbled, and walked through the halls. "Where is she?"

Though she found no sign of Hex in the halls, what sounded like groaning could be heard from the second floor. May, hearing that, found some stairs and headed up there. While she headed up there, the groans grew louder, until she came across Hex's room; the door was slightly ajar, and the groans were clearly coming from there.

"…Hex?" May called.

"...ngh?" Hex uttered from that room. "Who's there?"

"Who do you think it is?" May scoffed.

"...oh... you." Hex uttered. "Sorry about that, May; being thrown out of a building isn't exactly good for my body."

May rolled her eyes and walked into her room. "We need to talk."

Hex was lying in her bed when May entered the room. "...talk about what?" she inquired, as she glanced at the flamingo.

May folded her arms and tapped her foot. "…you used me."

With a slight grunt, Hex slowly sat up. "...is that a problem?" she huffed.

"Yeah, that's a problem," May growled. "I had no idea you actually kidnapped soldiers and held them as sex slaves against their will…you used me to gather some soldiers up for you."

"Now that's only halfway true." Hex protested. "I knew you wanted a wild party, and that's what you got. What I'd do with the soldiers _after_ the party would be my own business."

"That still made me an unknowing accomplice to your scheme," May argued. "I even brought my sis into it…and that's where I usually draw the line…"

"No one told you to bring your sister, you know." Hex sighed with a roll of her eyes. "So you can't blame _that_ one on me."

"…it doesn't matter…" May grumbled. "…I came to tell you that I'm not getting involved with you anymore. When the training's done, I'll leave with my sis."

Hex raised an eyebrow at that. "...you're saying that like you're expecting me to freak out because you're leaving." she noted.

"No; I just have the decency to let you know," May corrected. "…I'm still pissed for what you did."

"What; just me using you for ulterior motives?" Hex scoffed.

"Motives that are against my morals, so yes," May replied. "…never imagined that coming out of my mouth; me with morals?"

"I was gonna say," Hex mused. "You weren't exactly against my special brand of cocktail; something your own sister consumed. I'm surprised that you even have a line you'd consider crossed when something bad happened."

"…course…maybe I was a bit freaked by Autumn too…" May muttered.

Hex simply groaned. "Not the first time I've had that happen to me... and surprisingly, not even as painful. I've _definitely_ had worse."

"…how so?" asked May.

"...eh; had a brawl involving that witch you hear rumors about and her not-exactly-boyfriend at the time." Hex shrugged. "I try blocking unpleasant experiences out of my mind; there's too much hassle in the past, you know."

May glared at her. "Easy for you to say…" and with that, she headed out.

But before she could reach the door, however, something snapped around her wrist; one of Hex's tentacles. "...did I say you could leave yet?" Hex sighed.

"…do I have to listen to you?" grumbled May, glaring back at her.

"Well, when you got me talking, I hate not being able to finish." Hex retorted, as she looked back at May. "...you know what that's like, right?"

May remained silent, understanding Hex's point.

"...so, let's at least finish talking, before you decide to never see me again." Hex said, before she dragged May over to the bed. "Take a seat; it's a lot more comfy than standing."

It wasn't like Hex was giving her any choice, either, so May sat down.

As she sat down as well, Hex grabbed her pipe and a lighter, before lighting her pipe. "...so... what are you going to do, when your training's over?" she inquired, before taking a drag from the pipe.

"…I don't know," May answered. "…I came here so that I at least could learn how to defend myself…"

"...so you have no real plans when you get back to the mainland, hm?" Hex assumed, before blowing out a plume of smoke. "Guess I can relate; aside from staying here, I've got nothing better to do."

"…why do you ask?" May wondered.

"Oh, I'm just curious." Hex hummed. "Back when you first got here, the only thing you thought was remotely interesting was me and my lifestyle. Now that your impression of me has forever been tainted, I was curious if there was anything else you found interesting elsewhere."

May shrugged.

"...I see." Hex hummed. "Guess you'll just go back to partying senselessly, then. Kind of a shame, that you'd end up back at square one."

"…no, I don't think I'll go back to that…" murmured May, rubbing her brows.

"...so you've lost interest in that, now..." Hex hummed. "...how droll. All good things just seem to end..."

"…I'll find something…" May muttered.

Hex hummed, before she looked up at the roof. "...you know... I used to be a party animal back in the day; like yourself." she mused, before she took another drag from her pipe.

"…why am I not surprised?" May remarked.

"Well, it was fun, so I didn't have a reason not to do it." Hex shrugged. "It was exhilarating; every party I went to seemed to just grow _wilder_... and one night, it got just about as wild as you could imagine." Taking a drag from the pipe, Hex let out a reminiscent sigh. "It's still the best night I've ever had in my entire life..."

May looked at her curiously.

"...but after that night, I've always wanted to try and replicate what happened at that party." Hex continued. "To at least really feel the same emotions like back then... but of course, that would put me at risk of getting knocked up; and as a party animal, that was the biggest obstacle one could think of. If you got pregnant, you were expected to take care of the kid you got."

Then, Hex smiled. "...so one day, I arranged for an "accident" to happen to me."

May's eyes widened. "…you _what?_"

"An "accident", May." Hex chuckled. "The only accidental thing about it was that it took way too long for any ambulances to arrive on the scene..." she added. "Basically, I made some deals around town to get me in a situation where a complete body-check would be necessary to see if I was alright. _Man,_ did I get a rush out of that."

After saying that, Hex closed her eyes. "...while I was recovering, though, they told me something I actually _didn't_ expect. The accident had caused a bit more damage than I had anticipated..."

"…and what's that?" May asked.

"...a part of me took irreparable damage, and had to be removed if I was to survive." Hex mused, before she looked at May with a smirk. "...that happened to be my womb. From that day on, I could no longer actually get pregnant."

May blinked in shock.

"...you can only imagine how I reacted." Hex chuckled. "At first, like anyone would, I was kinda scared. But after letting it sink in... it might've been the best thing that ever happened to me. I could fool around as much as I could, without ever having to suffer any repercussions because of it. And when I heard about Safe Haven, a place where law practically didn't matter..." Chuckling, she breathed out another plume of smoke. "...I can do whatever I want here, May. To someone like me, this place is nothing short of paradise."

May looked away from here. "…that sounds nice…"

"...it is." Hex chuckled, before she looked at May. "...and yet... you seem uncomfortable, hearing about it."

"…my parents never liked the fact that I partied all the time…they liked Fae better…" May muttered. "…but…now I'm starting to realize why they didn't want me to party all the time…" May stood up from the bed and looked at Hex.

"…You're absolutely nuts."

Hex blinked. "...excuse me?"

"…you're so addicted to it that you purposely damaged yourself just so you could enjoy it over and over and over again," May uttered. "…even I take breaks from it. I can't do it all the time. There are other things that are worth my time too…"

"...like what?" Hex scoffed, before she stood up as well. "You practically admitted that you don't even know what else to do other than partying. There's _nothing else_ that's worth your time."

"How about 'having a life'?" May retorted. "How about just talking to people, or making something of yourself?"

May blinked. "…man…I really never thought that would come out of my mouth."

"...well, that's certainly a 180." Hex scoffed. "And all it took was some deranged moth barging in and tossing me out of a window. I'd like to imagine you saying stuff like that if he hadn't shown up."

"…yeah, I probably wouldn't say stuff like that if he didn't barge in…" May muttered. "…but that guy was possessed Hex. There was something abnormal about him…I've never seen _anyone_ here like that."

"...like I've said, I've had worse." Hex huffed. "And knowing my luck recently, something even worse is probably gonna happen sooner or later."

"But what could be worse than that?" May uttered.

"Well, this time I was just thrown out the window. Last time, I was actually wounded before she tossed me out the window." Hex explained dryly. "What happened to me last night was the lesser of two evils, you could say."

"…who would do that?" May asked.

"...a witch." Hex shrugged. "By the name of Callous."

"…huh…" muttered May.

"…well…" she turned to head for the door. "I'm going, so Merry Christmas."

_...it would've been merrier, had things gone according to plan..._ Hex thought slightly bitterly. "...Merry Christmas." she said with a nod.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And just in time for the holidays too! Merry Christmas guys! :D<strong>_


	19. Chapter 19

Ani was just cleaning up as usual. She had a set routine after all, and now that the spring was slowly coming in, things were warming up and getting better. Soon it would be time for all the trainees to leave for greener pastures.

At that point, the door opened. "Hiya, Ani!" Sonia called as she strode inside. "How's it going?"

"Not too bad," Ani replied. "How 'bout you?"

"I'm doing fine." Sonia said with a laugh, before she sat down. "I've been working out to get rid of the leftover pounds from Christmas, and I've definitely made progress!"

"That's good," Ani said with a smile. "So, is there anything I can get you?"

"A sizeable breakfast!" Sonia said with a grin.

"I can do that!" Ani said, turning to put her apron on… then the doors opened and Ani looked to see Autumn walk in. "Oh! Autumn!"

"Sonia, I need your help," Autumn said. "Raider's bugging Jill again."

Ani frowned. "Again?"

Sonia blinked, and looked back at Autumn. "...again..." she murmured. "...what's he up to this time, Autumn?"

"He made a stupid pick up line, which irritated Jill enough to ask him to leave," Autumn muttered. "She's still asking him to leave and he won't…"

"...ugh..." Groaning, Sonia stood up. "...just keep the breakfast warm until I get back, okay, Ani?" With that, she began heading outside.

"…right…" Ani replied.

* * *

><p>"C'mon…" Raider sneered, leaning over the counter to smirk at a very appalled Jill. "I didn't mean to make you mad. I just wanna get to really know you…heh…"<p>

Jill just grit her teeth.

And the door behind Raider flew open. "Goddamn it, Raider; can't you just take a hint?" Sonia yelled at him.

Raider rolled his eyes. "Look, I didn't even touch her this time," he groaned, looking back at them… until he smirked. "However tempting it was."

Jill stuck her tongue out in a disgusted manner.

"...honestly..." Sonia groaned, before she walked up to Raider. "You are leaving right now, pronto!"

Raider stuck his face in Sonia's. "Are you going to make me?" he growled.

"Yeah," Sonia growled back. "So get outta here, or else..."

"Hmph…" Raider grumbled. "Just because you beat me in that tournament, doesn't mean you're better than me…"

Eventually he brushed past her. "I'm outta here…" and he went out the door.

Jill sighed out of relief, and smiled at Sonia.

"...sheesh, what a total creep." Sonia huffed, before she smiled at Jill. "Everything alright?"

Jill nodded, and wrote. _Thank you for coming to my rescue…he just wouldn't leave._

"...well, rescue's overexaggerating." Sonia chuckled. "Still, I'm more than glad to help out."

Jill nodded again. _I don't know why he was so obnoxious this time_, Jill wrote.

"...yeah... wonder why." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her chin. "...you want me to find out what his deal is?"

Jill nodded.

Sonia nodded. "Right; I can swing on over by his place and get some info from him. All before breakfast!" she said, as she gave Jill a confident smile. "Trust me; I'll get him to spill the beans!"

"Yeah, don't worry Jill," Autumn agreed.

Jill only smiled in appreciation.

"Alright; I'm off!" Sonia called, before she rushed out of the malt shop.

"…wait for me Sonia!" Autumn called, running after her. "I'm coming with you!"

"Well, that's generous of you!" Sonia called. "Sure; just stay with me as backup!"

"Right," Autumn said with a nod.

* * *

><p>"Ow! OW! Please let go of my hair!"<p>

"Not a chance," Raider said, who was pulling Oblivion towards his office… by her hair no less.

"Raider, let me go!" she screamed.

"Okay, fine!" with a huff, Raider let her hair go and Oblivion clutched to her scalp in pain. "Oh c'mon; I didn't pull you THAT hard!"

"…I've been pulled like that…many times before…" Oblivion uttered. "…I'm sensitive…"

Raider rolled his eyes. "How did you manage through all that training then?"

"…I stayed out of the way and didn't cause any trouble…that's how," Oblivion answered bluntly, glaring at Raider. "What's this about?"

Raider smirked. "…I know your secret, unicorn…"

Oblivion gasped, and her eyes widened in fear. "…what…?"

Raider's smirk grew. "…that's right. I know about that dragon you're hiding in the cave…"

"…WHO TOLD YOU?" Oblivion screamed, glaring hatefully at Raider.

"Diablo," Raider replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Crazed leopard was walking around, and he discovered your sleeping dragon in that cave…then he came and told me."

Oblivion's eyes widened again and she stepped away.

"…w…what do you want with me…?" she uttered.

"Just like to know a bit more…" Raider chuckled, stepping toward her.

"…NO!"

Oblivion shot forward with a glowing hand, and Raider grabbed her wrist, twisting it around her back. "Now what's that for?" Raider asked, making Oblivion yelp in pain. "Just what do you think you're doing, huh?"

"…I was…I…" Oblivion winced even more, because it hurt.

"I'm sorry; what was that?" Raider twisted her arm more and Oblivion yelped again.

"I CAN ERASE MEMORIES!"

"…say what?"

Raider let Oblivion go and she fell to the ground on her knees. "…I said…" she uttered. "…I can erase memories…and I just tried to erase yours…"

"…is that so…?" Raider blinked at that. Someone who could erase memories? Why, there were so many possibilities with that… you could get away with so much if you could erase someone else's memories…

At that point, someone knocked at the door. "Raider! Come on out here; I've got some questions to ask ya!" Sonia's voice could be heard from the other side.

Raider jumped a bit, but then he smirked. "…Oblivion…there's something I'd like you to do for me…" he chuckled.

Oblivion looked up at him worriedly.

"Hey! I know you're in there, so come out, already!" Sonia called again.

"…you erase their memories…" Raider said with a sneer. "…or I tell her about your secret…"

Oblivion's felt cornered at that point…

"…OKAY! We're coming in!" And suddenly the door burst open. Running in was Autumn and Sonia, and they stopped. "…what the HELL do you think you're doing now?" uttered Autumn, glaring at Raider once he saw that Oblivion was in the room.

"Oh, you couldn't just leave well enough alone with Jill? Now you're hitting on other women, too?" Sonia huffed, before she advanced towards the ox. "I want you to answer my questions, or else I'm gonna-"

Suddenly, Oblivion clamped her hand on Sonia's mind, and her hand started glowing. "…I'm so sorry…" Oblivion uttered fearfully.

Sonia's eyes widened slightly, and for some reason, she couldn't wriggle out of Oblivion's grip. "...what... are you..." she uttered, before she began feeling woozy... and with that, her grip on consciousness simply slipped, as she fainted right then and there.

"…h-hey! What are you doing?" Autumn ran at Oblivion, worried over Sonia, but Oblivion was able to grab him by his head and her glowing hand had an effect on him too. "…wait…you…" and Autumn felt woozy again, falling to the ground.

Oblivion held her hand in guilt, while Raider smirked, "…impressive."

"…it's not anything to be impressed about…" Oblivion retorted. "…we should move them before they wake up." And Oblivion went over to take Sonia by the shoulders to drag her.

"…you've done this kind of thing before, haven't ya?" Raider asked, taking up Autumn in his arms and following Oblivion. "…wait, don't answer that…"

"…here is fine," she said, putting Sonia in the middle of some brush. "…they should wake up on their own later on and not remember the reason they came to you…"

"…pretty nifty I'd say," Raider chuckled, putting Autumn by Sonia. "…you know…I could use you."

"No!" Oblivion turned to walk away. "I'm not doing anything for you! I vowed that I would use my powers only to protect myself, and Charon."

"Well then…I guess I'll have to tell people there's a dragon hiding in that cave…"

Oblivion winced.

There was silence in the air for a long time…

"...pray tell... _who_ would you tell about the dragon in that cave?" a more sinister voice chuckled, as a shadow suddenly loomed over both Raider and Oblivion.

Raider spun around. "S-Spiel?"

Oblivion spun around as well, but she wasn't as startled as Raider.

Yes; the huge pig stood right behind them, and simply grinned wickedly. "...how do ya do, Oblivion?" Spiel said with a friendly nod; as if Raider wasn't even there. "I swung by your friend's place with the usual round of food, but you weren't there. So, did you make friends with Raider, or something?"

"…we aren't friends," Oblivion said. "…Raider was going to force me to use my powers for him."

"…what?" Raider shot a look back at her, and then at Spiel. "Y-y-you mean…?"

"...oh, is that right?" With a chuckle, Spiel grabbed hold of Raider's shoulder. "...you know, that's actually not a bad plan, Raider... but there's just one, eensy, teeny, tiny problem with it..."

"…w-w-what?" Raider uttered in wide eyed terror.

"...you should've figured that out before she became my acquaintance."

With that, Spiel clamped down on Raider's shoulder with intense force, grinning even more wickedly. Raider's jaw hung open and he gasped in utter pain, while Oblivion looked away. Even for a creep, she still couldn't see someone suffer like that at the hands of Spiel.

"...you think I'd let ya run about with someone I took in like that?" Spiel chuckled, as he kept tightening his iron grip. "Either I'm imagining things, or you actually must've _thought_ that I wouldn't notice if she decided to wipe the minds of anyone you wanted."

"Aaaagh!" Raider cried out when his grip tightened.

"Tell me; how far were you gonna go with this, Raider?" Spiel kept chuckling, though his eyes began narrowing as well. "After you were done playing with small fry, who would you have gone after next? Someone stronger, like Sage? Or what about Hunter? Hell, maybe you even thought of taking down King!"

"B-but I…I didn't even think that far!" Raider uttered.

"Oh, but you would've done so _eventually_." Spiel chuckled. "Anyone with even the faintest brain cell in his head would be able to think to use such an ability to take down the head honcho around here..." And his grip began lightening; as if he was about to let go of Raider, but still held onto the ox.

Raider slowly touched his shoulder, wincing in absolute pain.

"...now, answer me this; who were you gonna use Oblivion against?" Spiel chuckled.

"…J-Jill…" Raider uttered.

"Her again? Really?" Spiel sighed. "You couldn't get enough even after reading her diary?" Then, he cracked his neck a little, "So... after that, then? Or were you just gonna keep Jill for yourself after you had Oblivion do her thing?"

Raider gulped. "I…I have no idea after that…"

At that point, Spiel sighed again. "...I just don't get you." he murmured. "You get something so innately powerful in your hands, and you never seem to think ahead for how it could be useful..." Then, the pig actually shot a spiteful glare at Raider. "...that kind of recklessness _pisses me off._"

Raider flinched at that glare.

Oblivion just turned away entirely. She didn't want to see or even hear any of this.

"...and because you piss me off... I'm gonna kick your ass." Spiel grunted. "So you'd better suck up whatever fear you got of me and fight back, because unless you do, you're as good as dead."

Oblivion's eyes widened at that.

"…Hey!"

Suddenly, two figures came out of the brush and pushed themselves between Raider and Spiel. "Spiel, what the hell are you doing?" asked Autumn.

"Are you _trying_ to get in trouble, or something?" Sonia shot in, as she stepped in next to Autumn.

Blinking, Spiel looked at them, before he shot a glance at Oblivion. Oblivion looked back at him, and them. Raider was startled that Sonic and Autumn would even be the ones coming to his rescue…but he moaned and held his shoulder.

"...hmph." With a light scoff, Spiel walked past Raider, Sonia and Autumn.

"...hey, where are you going?" Sonia asked him.

"Someone wanted to see her." Spiel noted with a nod to Oblivion. "I'm gonna take her over there."

Oblivion nodded back. "…right…" And with that, the two of them started walking away.

Autumn blinked. "…what just happened?"

"...I have no idea." Sonia uttered, as she held her head. "...so... why are we here, again?"

"…I…don't remember…" Autumn replied. Then he turned to Raider with a glare. "Did you have anything to do with it?"

"No," Raider grumbled, turning to walk away back to his place. "I'd just let it go. Everything was taken care of anyway…" And he left inside.

Sonia blinked. "...what's with him?"

"…who knows," Autumn shrugged. "Question is…what were we doing?"

"Argh, I have no idea..." Sonia murmured, as she held her head. "Everything's a blur..." Then, she snapped her fingers. "Oh, shoot! I remember something! I went to the pub to get some breakfast, and... after that, I somehow ended up here!"

"Better not keep Ani waiting then," Autumn chuckled. "I hear she gets mad when good food goes to waste."

"Tell me about it." Sonia nodded. "Come on; before it gets cold!" And she hurried off.

Autumn hurried after her, chuckling.

* * *

><p><em>A few months later...<em>

* * *

><p>Finally, the year of training had come to an end, and the new generation of soldiers was preparing to leave Safe Haven.<p>

"I'm gonna miss this place," Autumn said, looking at everyone there.

"...yeah; me too," Morrigan nodded in agreement, as she adjusted her glasses. "...it's kind of strange; leaving after so long..."

"…yeah, I know," Autumn added.

"I'm going to miss you all!" exclaimed Fae to a few soldiers who all waved back at her.

"…this place sure was crazy," May remarked.

"...well, I'm not gonna start complainin; I had a blast while I was here!" Guts mused with a light snicker.

Most of them went ahead and started boarding the ferry with all of the cheering soldiers nearby. Autumn was stopped though, because a tiny pair of arms wrapped around his legs. He looked down to see Joy, and he smiled, picking her up and hugging her. "Yeah, I'll miss you too Joy," he said.

Joy giggled and hugged Autumn tight, while Jill and Sonia walked up to him and Morrigan.

"...come to see us off?" Morrigan hummed.

"Well, why shouldn't we? It'd be rude if none of us at least said bye." Sonia said with a smile.

"...that's understandable." Morrigan mused with a smile, as she adjusted her glasses.

Autumn set Joy down, and she toddled over to Jill to hold her hand. "…once again…I'm sorry about such a rough start between us," Autumn said, looking up to Jill.

Jill smiled a little bit, and nodded in appreciation as well as some forgiveness.

"…and I think you'll raise her into a very gifted child," Autumn added, smiling as well.

"...I have a feeling that she'll turn out great." Morrigan said with a nod to Jill.

Sonia smiled as well, as she rubbed her neck.

Jill smiled thankfully, and she shook each of their hands as her way of saying good bye to them. Autumn nodded back at her, and then he took Morrigan's hand. "C'mon," he said, pulling her toward the ferry.

"...right." Morrigan nodded, before giving Jill a final nod.

"I'm gonna miss ya Grandpa!" wailed Ani, hugging Bruno tightly.

"I'll miss ya too, kiddo!" Bruno laughed, patting Ani's back. "In fact, I'll miss all of ya and this whole place!"

"You can say that again." Caitlin chuckled, while she gave King a tight hug. "Now you all make sure to stay healthy!"

"Same goes to you, Mom!" King retorted, as he was hugging Caitlin right back.

"I wish I could stay," Belinda said, hugging Sage. "But you understand, of course."

"I do, Mother." Sage nodded whilst hugging her back. "Do take care of yourself."

"And you as well, Sunrise," Belinda said with a smile, pulling away to join Bruno and Caitlin on the ferry. Sage just watched her walk away; waving at her.

"And don't worry about us!" called out Bruno. "We'll come visit you during the holidays!"

"You'd better!" King called to Bruno. "Or else we'll come visit you!"

"That's my boy!" Caitlin laughed, as she waved back at them. "You take care, now!"

"Bye guys!" Ani called out excitedly, waving back at them.

After that, the ferry engine started up and blew steam, making the cheering soldiers roar. Everyone kept calling out and waving to the ferry that was slowly, but surely, moving away from the island.

Oblivion stood on a tall, tall hill, watching the ferry leave from a distance. She had decided, unlike many of the others, to stay here on this island. Even if the training was rough, she managed through it, and this place somehow…felt more like a home than anything else she ever knew.

"...I figured you'd be staying." she suddenly heard Spiel muse behind her.

"…This is the only place Charon has stayed safe for so long," Oblivion answered, looking back at him.

"Doing it all for him, eh?" Spiel chuckled, as he took a huge bite out of a turkey leg. "That's really kind of ya. I don't think I could even compare." he added jokingly.

"…and at least no one will suspect me being missing for so long," Oblivion murmured. "…it makes it safer for me to be with Charon…"

"...and that, in turn, makes your friend feel at ease, right?" Spiel assumed.

"…I would assume so," Oblivion answered.

"...heh." Spiel chuckled. "I get the feeling that things are gonna turn out well for both of ya."

Oblivion took one more look out on the harbor, and then she finally turned around and left.

With a light chuckle, Spiel left as well. _...one month... I wonder if anyone interesting will show up with the next ferry? _he thought.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Spiel will soon realize that :D<strong>_


	20. Chapter 20

Jill wouldn't suspect at all the chaos that was in store for her.

Because she was turning twenty one years old today…

Sonia already made all these arrangements up for Jill before she even had a say, and while Sage was left to babysit Joy again, Sonia was dragging Jill to the pub to her utter confusion.

"Come on; you're old enough, so it shouldn't be any surprise as to what's gonna happen!" Sonia said with a hearty laugh.

Jill still gave her a baffled look, although she was starting to fit some of the pieces together.

Sonia seriously didn't imply that she would take her to the pub…to drink?

They burst into the pub on a busy night, with many of the island's soldiers here to drink and have a good time. They ignored the ones bursting in entirely; except Ani, who was grinning quite mischievously, "Boy, I've been waiting for this moment," she chuckled.

"You and me both." Sonia laughed, before she practically forced Jill down on a seat next to her. "So, you got the good stuff ready?"

Ani smirked even more, and she set down a drink in front of Jill. "Since it's her first time, I made sure that you can't even taste the alcohol," she chuckled.

"…first time?"

A table nearby overheard, and Ed looked over. "…guys, check it out," he said with wide eyes.

"...well, well." Marco hummed as well. "It's her, again."

"...her first time, eh?" Will mused, as he raised an eyebrow.

"…it's been that long, huh?" Seymour murmured.

"…but I thought she was nineteen," Ed uttered in confusion, when he got smacked upside the back of his head by Seymour. "OW!"

"It's been two years since she's been nineteen, you dolt," Seymour grumbled.

"Seriously, you forgot already?" Will murmured with a slight sigh.

They looked over at Jill, who just stared at her drink in disbelief. They wanted her to drink? But Jill always figured that she would never drink… and especially since she had a child. She didn't want to pass bad habits onto Joy. Children were impressionable, after all.

"C'mooooon Jill," teased Ani. "It's like a coming of age thing. EVERYONE does this on their twenty first birthday!"

"Hell, even I did it!" Sonia said with a smile. "Just try it out!"

Jill looked at Sonia uneasily, and then back at the drink.

…eventually, Jill finally took the drink and sipped it. Like Ani said, she couldn't really taste any of the bitter alcohol; it tasted like lemonade to her. Jill raised her eyebrows at it, but she took a bigger sip, and when she set it down her eyes widened.

She couldn't really describe was it was; just a wave of energy shot through her, with a dizzy after feeling, but she could feel the buzz.

"...well?" Sonia hummed excitedly. "How is it?"

Jill smiled a little bit.

"Good, because that's not going to be the only thing you'll drink!" Ani chuckled. "Once you're done with that, we're moving on to other things."

Jill looked at Ani a bit uneasily… and yet she picked up her drink to consume more of it.

"...you know what? I can't sit out on this." Sonia chuckled, before she looked at Ani. "Pour me something, as well!"

Ani looked at Sonia in surprise. "But there's gotta be someone to take Jill home if she gets drunk!"

Jill gagged on her drink out of shock and coughed profusely.

They were going to make her _drunk?_

"Oh, don't worry; I won't drink so much that I get totally wasted!" Sonia said with a laugh.

"Sure you won't," chuckled Ani. "..if you say so," and Ani went ahead to pour Sonia another drink.

"Thanks!" Sonia said with a smile, before she took a sip from the drink.

Jill finally finished her drink, and Ani was quick to yank it away and hand Jill another type of drink; a shot glass with tequila in it. "Now this!" she said.

Jill blinked, and picked up the shot glass to sip.

Then she spat it out and winced. It was _very_ bitter!

"...not a fan, huh?" Sonia mused with a slight chuckle.

Jill shook her head.

"You have to down it really fast," Ani chuckled.

Jill winced again, but she did as Ani said and guzzled down the gross drink. After gulping it down, Jill let out a huge breath. She felt that buzz again, and it had a kick to it with this one.

"She's getting into it!" Sonia chuckled, before she downed the drink she had been served.

Jill blinked a bit, and then Ani poured her more into the shot glass. "C'mon Jill, you can do it," she chuckled.

Jill glowered a bit at Ani, but she forced it down her throat again. Then she got another punch of elation…not to mention she was starting to feel a bit warm.

"It's taking effect, huh?" Sonia mused with a slight laugh.

Jill nodded.

"Good; we want that," Ani chuckled, pouring Jill another glass. "Let's see how far you can go!"

"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Sonia said with a snicker.

* * *

><p><em>A few drinks later…<em>

* * *

><p>"…Geez Jill…you sure can drink quite a bit," Ani uttered in amazement. "…you don't feel drunk yet?"<p>

Jill shook her head… but at the same time, she felt _really_ hot… and the place felt so muggy to her… but she was able to think clearly…maybe…

"Aw, don't lie, you're drunk," Ani chuckled.

Jill shrugged… and she wobbled a little bit. After all, she was quite a bit dizzy…

"So, first time you're drunk." Sonia began, as she grinned a little. "How is it?"

Jill tried to fan herself with her hand.

"Hot, huh?" Ani laughed. "Want a glass of water?"

Jill nodded.

"...well, at least we're getting a reaction." Sonia chuckled, before she looked at Ani. "Hey, can I get another one?"

"Sure…" Ani replied, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"…damn, that sure is a lot to drink…"

Jill looked around, and found herself and Sonia surrounded by Will's group.

"Seriously, you've been going at it for... I dunno, 40 minutes?" Marco noted. "That's a _lot._"

"...when'd you guys get here?" Sonia blinked.

"...we've been here the entire time, and you notice us just _now?_" Will scoffed, as he folded his arms.

"Bug off Will," grumbled Ani.

"Maybe he doesn't want to, huh Ani?" Ed supposed.

Jill wasn't even really sure what was going on anymore. She just looked around at them curiously.

"...what?" Will hummed, as he looked back at Jill; raising an eyebrow. "Am I getting on your nerves, or something?"

Jill smiled in a daze and shook her head. For some reason, these guys didn't bother her at all.

"...huh." Will blinked. "That's... unusual."

"What, someone tolerating you for a change?" Sonia noted dryly.

"Hey, watch it!" Marco said defensively.

Jill chugged down another shot, and hiccupped.

"…and she's still going at it," hummed Seymour.

"...seriously; it's kinda disconcerting..." Marco noted.

"...oh, just let her keep it up, if she feels like getting plastered." Will simply shrugged.

Jill only kept smiling while she downed another glass.

"Wow…" Ed muttered. "…she's going to have a MAJOR hangover tomorrow!"

"No kidding." Marco blinked. "...well, I'm glad it's not me who's getting that hangover, at least..."

After Jill got that one, she picked up a pen, and tried to write on her pad. There was hardly any coordination to her writing, but somehow she was able to spell out these words.

_You. Drinking Contest. Now!_

And she showed it at Will with a hiccup.

Everyone just blinked, as they looked at Jill and Will. "...a drinking game?" Marco blinked.

"On her first night of drinking?" Sonia uttered.

Will just looked at Jill with a look of disbelief. "...you know, you're way ahead of me in terms of drinks; if we do this, you're just gonna end up throwin' up." he eventually said.

Jill shrugged.

"...eh." With a shrug of his own, Will sat down by Jill. "Ani, toss me a drink; I'm taking her up on that challenge!"

Ani blinked. "…okay…" and she got a shot glass for him while Jill poured up another cup.

Grabbing the glass, Will glanced at Jill. "...whenever you're ready." he said with a slight smirk.

Jill raised the glass…then she drank it down no problem.

Nodding, Will downed the contents of his glass as well.

"Man, this is gonna be a tough one." Marco commented. "How many of those did Jill down already, Ani?"

"…she already had seven shots before this one; now she has eight," Ani muttered.

"...well, she's already in danger of falling flat; Will's seven whole drinks behind her." Marco murmured.

"Oh, please. Jill can handle it!" Sonia laughed; as she seemed a bit tipsy, herself.

Jill nodded, wobbling a bit again, and she took another shot glass full of alcohol to gulp it down.

"Nine for Jill…" Ani muttered.

"...and two for me." Will hummed, before he gulped down another glass.

"C'mon Will! You can catch up, can't you?" pestered Ed.

"Relax; you can't build a city in one day." Will huffed, before he took another drink.

"Three for Will," Ani kept track, and she looked over at Jill to see her drink another one. "Ten for Jill."

Jill going to pick up another glass…but then she hesitated. Her head started to hurt, and she grasped her forehead in slight agony. "Don't rush yourself Jill," Ani warned her.

"Yeah; you heard what Will said." Sonia nodded.

"...taking advice from your opponent, now?" Will hummed in a bemused tone, before he took another drink.

"Four…" Ani muttered on the side, and then she looked at Jill worriedly. She still didn't move.

"...ten's gotta be her limit," Marco noted, as he folded his arms. "If she goes for eleven, she's gotta have a strong stomach..."

…then suddenly, Jill just gulped it down like it was no problem, and when Ani saw her face, she saw how flushed and totally out of it Jill looked. There didn't seem to be any hint of disgust or nausea in the look on her face.

Just a dopey smile.

Ani blinked. "…Eleven…"

"...well, I'll be damned." Sonia uttered.

Shrugging, Will downed his next shot.

"...but... _that's_ gotta be her limit, right?" Marco sputtered, before looking at Seymour and Ed.

"Five…" Ani counted. "…Jill? Hey Jill!"

Jill wobbled a bit again… no matter what, she didn't fall. Ani was starting to get really worried about her…

"...I dunno if she can hear me..." Will murmured, before he readied his next shot. "...but she should probably quit while she's ahead. That much alcohol ain't good for ya."

"Six…" Ani slowly reached for Jill's shoulder…

…then Jill suddenly grabbed Ani's hand to stop her, and she gulped another shot to the wolf/husky's shock. "J-Jill?" Ani uttered.

"Twelve?" Ed was baffled by that.

"Okay, either there's trickery going on, or she's the toughest drinker on Safe Haven!" Marco sputtered. "I've never seen anyone go over ten!"

Will shot Jill a look of disbelief, before he took another shot.

Jill stuck out her tongue in a smug way, and she drank another shot.

"…that's seven for Will, and thirteen for Jill," Ani muttered, slowly pulling her hand away. "…Jill, I think you should really stop. You're going to be really sick, or worse; you might pass out."

"...take note of what she says." Will noted, before he downed another shot.

"...he's catching up." Marco uttered.

"Seven," counted Ani again, and this time, she saw that Jill actually was waiting for Will this time.

But she still had that stupid grin on her face.

Glancing back at Jill with a slurred look, Will raised an eyebrow. "...what's so funny?" he murmured.

There was no way Jill could even hope to write a response back, but she wobbled and thought that was even funnier. "…Will…maybe…she doesn't think you can do it?" Ed supposed.

Jill snapped her fingers in agreement, and pointed at Will with a smug look…

"...is that right?" Will scoffed. "Tough talk, comin' from someone who can't even see straight," And he downed another shot; now, though, one could see it having a clearer effect on him, as he shuddered.

"…eight…" Ani smiled a little. "You know, I have to admit this is interesting…"

"...how so?" Marco blinked.

"…this is the first time I've seen Will be challenged to a drinking contest," Ani replied. "I don't know his limitations on drinking…."

"...I can handle more than ya think." Will scoffed, before taking another shot.

Jill only kept smirking…as if she didn't believe him.

"…nine for Will now," Ani said. "He's catching up Jill…"

"...hmph." With a scoff, Will downed another shot; once again, shuddering.

"Ten; still three behind Jill," Ani remarked.

"You can do it, Will!" Marco cheered.

Pouring another shot, Will just looked at the glass intently. Then, with a deep breath, he downed that glass as well.

"Eleven," Ani counted.

"...what, aren't you gonna drink more?" Will murmured, as he shot Jill a glance.

"I think she's just waiting for you to see if you can catch up…" Ani supposed. Then she looked over at Sonia to see how drunk she was getting.

Surprisingly, though, even though she had downed a few shots of her own, Sonia was just watching the escalating drinking game between Jill and Will.

"...hm." With a hum, Will managed to down another shot, before he coughed a bit; it was starting to take its toll on him.

"That's twelve; one more and he's equal to Jill," Ani said.

Placing a hand on the counter, Will took a few breaths to deal with the alcohol rushing through him.

"You got this, Will!" Marco said encouragingly.

With a faint nod, Will gripped the glass, and chugged it right down; grimacing once he set the glass down.

"There's thirteen," Seymour said with a chuckle.

Then Jill just grabbed another shot and chugged it no problem.

"...whoa." Sonia blinked.

Shooting Jill a look of disbelief, Will gulped a bit, before he took another glass, and _slowly_ managed to down its contents.

Jill only smirked, and she lifted another shot glass to drink…

…then suddenly, she lost her balance all together and she fell backward onto the ground.

"JILL!" Ani became worried and ran around the counter to her side.

"Will! Drink another one and you'll beat her!" cheered Ed.

Sonia, too, ran over to Jill's side; looking worriedly at her.

"...hmph." With that last scoff, Will practically forced the next shot down his throat; slamming the glass on the counter with a drawn-out gasp the moment he finished it

"And Will wins that!" Ed laughed.

"Way to show her up, Will!" Marco laughed.

Grunting, Will shot a glance towards Jill again.

Jill tried getting back up, but she lost so much coordination that she need Sonia's and Ani's help to get up.

"…she doesn't look so scary now," chuckled Ed.

"...hey, you're right." Marco noted, before chuckling as well.

Will, too, raised a slight eyebrow whilst looking at the 'witch' he had been wary of since she arrived on the island.

Jill finally was able to get up, and she shot a glare at the four of them. When she waved a finger though, she fell down again, and that made Will's friends burst out into laughter. She looked so funny…and so drunk!

"Oh, man, this is great!" Marco laughed. "She can't even stand straight, and she still thinks she's a big shot!"

"What a joke…" Seymour chuckled.

"C'mon Jill; I think you've had enough!" Ani said, trying to pull Jill away.

"Come on..." Sonia murmured, as she helped Ani as best she could.

Instead, Jill struggled and kicked out into the air, wanting a piece of Will, though she was so drunk that Ani and Sonia were still able to pull her away. This only made Will's friends laugh even more.

"Man, she's really full of herself, if she thinks she can beat Will!"

Will just watched Jill being pulled away, before scoffing a bit. "...feh."

Ani glared back at them. "Oh shut up! It's a lot easier to make fun of someone when they're drunk! It just makes you guys all look like pansies!"

"Oh, yeah?" Marco huffed. "Tell me, Ani; who was it that was _so_ confident that she could beat Will in a drinking game?"

"Hey!" Ani snapped. "She still beat Will in the tournament!"

"Only with the help of that witch; she didn't do any of that herself!" Ed mocked. "She can't seem to do anything by herself!"

"I can't believe we were actually _scared_ of her before!" Marco laughed. "What a sap! Come on, guys; let's get Will home, so we can celebrate!"

"...mhn." Will huffed, though he couldn't hide a coy grin that had spread during the argument.

Jill got so mad…that she was suddenly able to shove Sonia and Ani away from her with an amazing strength.

Ani gasped. "Jill?"

But instead of going after Will, Jill just turned and ran out of the pub; a couple tears running down her face.

"Ah- JILL!" Quickly, Sonia stumbled after Jill. "Wait up!"

"That's right; run away you big crybaby!" Ed laughed. Then he got smacked by Seymour, "OW!"

"That was too much, Ed," Seymour muttered.

Will, too, shot a glance at Ed, before looking towards the door where Jill and Sonia left through.

Ani glared at them. "…way to go, you bunch of jerks," she growled, walking back around behind the counter.

"...but she..." Marco began, though when Will raised his hand, he stopped.

"...'s enough." Will murmured, as he looked down at the counter. "Don't push it..."

"…alright…" Ed murmured.

* * *

><p><em>Jill had no idea what to think; her head hurt so much and all the images were so blurry. The noises she heard seemed so far away; echoing in the distant corners of her mind.<em>

_Then the noises started growing louder._

"…_ow…that's too loud…" she muttered, holding her hands over her ears. But the noises only got louder, and putting her hands over her ears couldn't help._

_The noises started making themselves out…and they sounded like screams. Screams of bloody murder and fear, and terror… Jill's eyes shot open. She saw blood; lots of it. It spilled everywhere with every scream, and she heard slashing and gagging and crying._

"…_no…no I don't want to see all of this again…" Jill uttered, and she tried to run away. Wherever she ran though, the blood and the screams followed her endlessly. "…Stop it!" Jill screamed. "Stop following me!"_

_Then she halted with a gasp, noticing a figure in front of her. Tiny hands held up a knife with an eerie giggle, and they lurched at her. Jill couldn't move for some reason…and she felt the pain strike her abdomen while that knife dug into her. Another eerie giggle sounded and Jill clenched her teeth. _

"…_why…?"_

_She gave another scream when the knife was twisted in her, and the next thing she knew, she was falling_…

Jill jumped up with a loud gasp, and then the bright light all around her made her cringe and grab her pillow to shroud herself in the darkness. It was so painful, the light burned her eyes… and she had the worst splitting headache she's ever imagined…

…then came that sudden urge to vomit.

Jill gagged a bit, until she finally couldn't hold back, and she stumbled out of bed with her hand holding her mouth closed, rushing through as quickly as she could to unload the uneasy contents in her stomach. Smashing her way through doors, she was finally able to kneel before a toilet and unload her uncontrollable urges.

…eventually, she was able to relax, and she collapsed onto the bathroom floor, clutching weakly to the toilet. She still had that splitting headache…and she felt so dizzy, and just plain horrible…

And that was what getting drunk for Jill was like. She could hardly remember what happened last night, and she couldn't even remember that strange dream she had. It was starting to drain away from her memory almost entirely. Even when she tried to think of it, she couldn't remember much of it anymore.

The most she remembered was that strange giggling… to be honest, it sent shivers down her spine when she thought about it, but it was such a blurry dream that it didn't affect her that much the more she thought about it.

…_note to self…_ she thought, trying to at least get up.

…_never…drink…again._

Then she stumbled again, and she would've groaned if she could, although the cold ground felt nice against her face.

It was just now that Jill wondered if Jill was even back home…or somewhere else.

"...Jill...?" she'd hear a concerned, yet somewhat sleepy voice call out to her.

Jill tried looking up to see who it was.

As the bathroom door opened, Jill saw Sonia look down at her. "...not the best way to be introduced to drinking, huh...?" she said with a slight sigh, before she sat down by her. "...you need help getting up?"

Jill set her elbow on the ground to try and keep her off of the ground. Eventually, she nodded at Sonia's question.

Sonia nodded back, before she began helping Jill back on her feet. "...do you want me to make you something to eat?" she inquired, before helping Jill out of the bathroom.

Sonia had perfect timing since right after she asked, Jill's stomach growled. She nodded again in reply.

"Alright." Sonia nodded, smiling a bit. "...say... maybe you'd like your breakfast served in bed? I think you might need to lie down for a little while."

Jill smiled a little bit and nodded again. Then she winced; the light still burned and her head still hurt.

"...don't worry; the hangover will go over eventually." Sonia said, as they just entered Jill's bedroom. "Here you go..." With that, Sonia helped Jill get back in her bed; tucking her in and everything. "Feel comfy?"

Jill nodded, and she took the pillow to cover her eyes again.

"Alright; you just wait here, and I'll go cook something up for you." Sonia said with a smile, before she headed out.

And Jill laid there just trying not to think while her head pounded.

Several minutes later, Sonia eventually returned into the bedroom; placing a platter of food by Jill's side. "Breakfast's ready." she said; not too loudly, as she knew that Jill would likely have a throbbing headache at the moment.

This time, Jill was able to cope with the light when she pulled the pillow off, and slowly she started eating again. After all, she just threw up not too long ago.

Taking a seat, Sonia looked at Jill. "...must've been a rough night for you, huh?" she hummed.

Jill took out her notepad, and at least now she was able to write. _To be honest, I don't even remember much of last night…_ she wrote.

"...I see." Sonia hummed, as she glanced to the side. "That might be for the best..."

Jill blinked.

…_what do you mean? _She wrote.

"...well... after the drinking game, you... kinda freaked out." Sonia murmured.

Jill slowly tilted her head. What did Sonia really mean when she said that she "freaked out"?

"...well... you ran off, and I decided to follow you." Sonia began. "When I found you, you were huddled up next to a tree, and... well, you were just bawling your eyes out. I guess being that drunk and having Will and his guys insult you must've triggered _something..._ but regardless, I got you home, and you didn't stop crying until you finally went to sleep..."

Jill looked at Sonia in a bit of surprise, but when she tried to think about it, she sort of started to remember something like that…

…just barely though; she still couldn't remember much.

Then she thought of something.

_Sage was here when you took me home, right?_ Jill wrote. _Did she know what was wrong with me?_

"...well..." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her neck. "...when we got back, Sage had already put Joy to bed... so after you had fallen asleep, she told me what she had caught." After saying that, she looked down at the floor. "...said something about being reminded of what happened to you before you came here... really heavy, tragic stuff... and that you missed someone. She didn't go into much detail, but..."

Jill's eyes widened.

Now she understood what probably happened. If Will said something, that might have reminded her of the past…and being drunk, she probably was a mess.

…_sorry about that,_ Jill eventually wrote.

"...eh, don't worry about it." Sonia said with a smile.

…_quite the first time getting drunk…_ Jill wrote. _…but I'm making sure that I never drink again…_

"...yeah; that's what I always say, too." Sonia mused with a slight chuckle. "But I got a feeling that you'd do a better job of adhering to that policy."

Jill smiled a bit.

Then she heard a giggle.

…Jill literally jumped when she heard that because…it sounded faintly like that creepy one she barely remembered…

…then she saw Joy toddling over to Jill and climb onto her bed. "Mama!" And she threw her arms around Jill.

Sonia smiled a bit. "Looks like someone's awake." she mused.

Jill didn't know why…but she was frozen for a minute, and she just looked down at Joy blankly.

Sonia blinked. "...what's up?" she hummed, tilting her head slightly.

Jill blinked and looked at Sonia…

…eventually Jill just hugged Joy back and smiled, figuring that it was nothing.

Sonia smiled a little bit at that, rubbing the back of her neck.

* * *

><p><em><strong>She would do best to listen to her dreams though...<strong>_


	21. Chapter 21

_One Month later…_

* * *

><p>Once again, it came to be that time; the day that all of the new arrivals would come and the training would begin once more for them all by the guidance of King, Hunter, Queen and Sonia.<p>

…thing was, that both Flamenco and Lin were asleep outside in a couple of chairs.

Ani, Hunter, Miser and Ripper came down early to greet the ferry when it would come about an hour later, and they all saw the two of their guards sound asleep.

"…I guess they stayed up last night or something…" Hunter muttered.

"...kekeke... wonder why that is." Ripper mused.

"...you think we should wake them up?" Miser inquired, as she glanced at Hunter and Ani.

"I don't know; maybe," Hunter said, and when he looked at Ani, he actually flinched a little.

Ani had the widest grin on her face, and Hunter knew what that meant.

"…no, let's not wake them up…since I have a great idea…"

"...oh, boy." both Ripper and Miser uttered in unison.

Hours later, the horn on the ferry sounded out.

"…hm…?" Flamenco started hearing it, and that caused him to wake up. He stretched his arms and yawned.

"...there's the ferry, huh..." Lin yawned as well, as she stretched out in turn.

"..si…" Flamenco answered, standing up.

Then he slipped on something, and he ended up sliding underneath Lin's feet and running into one of the shacks.

Lin blinked, as she looked down at the ground. "...huh...?"

There was some kind of slimy substance on the ground… like honey, and it led all the way to where Flamenco ran into the shed. He plucked some of it off of him with a finger, since now he was covered in it, and just as he tried to shake it off of him, there was a whistling that got his attention.

"Here chickey chickey chickey!"

Next thing Flamenco knew, he was showered with a large bucket full of feathers that landed on his head, and he stumbled around trying to get it off of him; feathers sticking to him everywhere in the process.

Again, Lin just blinked. "...whaaa...?"

Ani jumped down from the roof of the shed, laughing as hard as she could when Flamenco finally got that bucket off of him. "You look like a CHICKEN!" she roared, rolling on the ground and holding her side.

Flamenco started grumbling.

Lin looked at Flamenco... and she began giggling. "You DO look like a chicken!" she said with a laugh.

Flamenco still wasn't amused… and when he heard more snickers, he looked to see Hunter, Ripper and Miser trying to hold in her laughter.

"...s-sorry..." Miser said with a snicker. "...b-but that just looks... too funny...!"

"Kekekeke..." Ripper, too, tried holding in his laughter as best he could.

Flamenco sighed in frustration, just wanting them to stop laughing.

Then the ferry horn went off, and it was so close that Flamenco's eyes widened. He slowly turned around…

…and the newcomers on the ferry saw him, and started laughing as well.

"...oh, whoops..." Lin couldn't help but snicker at this; it was pure comedy gold.

Flamenco only sighed again. It just wasn't his morning.

"...well, well; someone's gotten creative, it seems." And to top it all off, King, Queen and Sonia approached the harbor as well; at least not cackling like the newcomers, but still with bemused expressions on them.

The ferry finally docked at the harbor, and the newcomers started coming down off of it.

"Oh man; that's tough luck," said one of them; a royal blue porcupine Mobian, who looked like she was a teenager. She wore a tank top and baggy pants with a chain hanging from it, and a lavender scarf wrapped around her neck with a single black line on it. "But you gotta admit that's funny!"

Flamenco just glared at her, and the porcupine shrugged. "Okay; so you don't have a sense of humor…"

"Maybe he's just grumpy." another girl said; this one was a pinkish chameleon, who wore a dark-colored gi outfit; covering her up fairly well. "He could've been awake for way too long."

"...hm." Another of the newcomers happened to be a warthog, who kept his eyes closed even as he walked off the ferry and stopped among the crowd.

Slow clapping from one set of hands sounded, and when the crowd parted, one of the other soilders walked toward Flamenco.

When Flamenco saw who it was, he froze.

It was a white cat Mobian, and she had a hat with a long, puffy feather on it, as well as a sword hung around her curved, attractive waist. She wore a shirt that showed her belly, and a long skirt that parted at the side, allowing those to see her high-heeled black boots.

"What a way to start the morning…" she chuckled.

"...what, you know him?" the chameleon hummed in slight intrigue.

At that point, someone bumped into the warthog, and quickly backed off. "Oh, e-excuse me, I... didn't see where I was..."

"...don't worry about it." the warthog said calmly, without even sparing the one who bumped into him a glance.

"…well, uh, we're going to be giving you guys a tour shortly here," Hunter started speaking, clearing his throat. "Do you guys have any questions before we start?"

The cat raised her hand. "Just one…"

…then suddenly, she drew her sword and swiftly, she lunged at Flamenco.

Flamenco saw it coming, and he drew his own sword to parry. The two started clashing their blades wildly, which just totally confused the soldiers as well as King and his group. Flamenco and the cat's feet were graceful, almost as if the two of them were dancing their duel out.

Eventually Flamenco blocked a thrust and the two were pinned against each other in a match of strength. "…just answer this, _Flamenco la Rapida y Elegante_…" spoke the cat bitterly. "…why did you leave me behind in those caverns?"

"That was not my fault," Flamenco growled.

"…uh…I'm going to guess that they know each other…" Hunter muttered with wide eyes.

"…damn…" croaked another porcupine that was next to the first one; this one brown, with green streaks in his quills and baggy clothes, as well as a silver chain around his neck….and a robotic left arm.

The one who had bumped into the warthog gulped a little as well; for some reason, he was cloaked to hide his appearance, and even wore a mask to hide his face from view. No one of the soldiers seemed to question this, at least, so...

"...well..." King murmured, before clearing his throat "...if you two could give it a rest, we-"

And at that point, both the cat and Flamenco were separated from each other; pulled apart by the warthog, who still had his eyes closed. "...save it. This is not an hour for battle."

Throughout all this, Lin just looked at Flamenco and the cat in wondering. "...Flammy? Who is that?" she inquired. Flamenco just scoffed, and turned to walk away, most likely to clean himself up, but just because he couldn't stand the sight of the cat.

"Ah, running away like always," mused the cat.

"...hm." With a light huff, the warthog simply pulled the cat back into the crowd.

"...right..." King hummed, before clearing his throat. "Well, now that we've dealt with that, how about we go and start the tour?"

* * *

><p>As usual, the tournament started out that night with a very excited crowd. More people were here on this night; more than usual. After all, there were plenty of the newcomers in the crowd that preferred to watch as opposed to fight in the tournament; despite a select few that challenged some of the veterans.<p>

Though this time, as a first, a certain pig was sitting in the crowd; watching the impending battles with a smirk. _...alright... let's see if there's anyone who catches my interest._ he thought.

As always, Miser made her introductions, and the crowd cheered loudly. The first match was an oddity; someone had directly challenged King, for a change, and the tiger was walking into the arena; cracking his neck.

The challenger was the royal blue porcupine, looking at King with a smirk. "Let's see how tough you Safe Haven guys are!"

"You got it!" King laughed, as he slammed his knuckles together. "You're gonna see how tough we are!"

And the battle started.

King immediately began, as he rushed to kick the porcupine in the face.

The porcupine ducked. "Nice!" watching the kick fly by her face.

"That ain't all!" And King instantly aimed a punch at her.

The punch hit her this time, but she was able to step away and shake it off. "Damn, you're strong!" she said, pacing and wiping her nose. Her bandaged hands clenched up and she held them up, ready for King.

"Well, obviously I'm strong!" King said, as he clenched his hands as well. "A nation's leader should be that strong!"

"Right, I guess that's true!" the porcupine said, rushing at King to throw a punch.

King, in turn, decided to throw his punch so that his fist slammed right into the porcupine's fist; bringing them to a stalemate.

The brown porcupine was among the crowd, and he stood up. "C'mon Crystal! You can beat him!" he called out.

The porcupine that the other one called Crystal, jumped away from King. "Guess brute force isn't gonna work here," she said.

"...oh, really?" King hummed, as he cracked his neck. "What will work, then?"

Crystal reached behind her head. "….oh, it's nothing really…except this."

She plucked off two of her longest quills, wielding them like bats when she swung them around.

"...oh?" King hummed in intrigue. "This ought to be interesting."

Crystal started striking the quills against each other…

…and after a while, there were these purple sparks that came off of them…

King blinked, as he kept watching this. _...sparks?_

Suddenly, the quills burst in a jolt of purple electricity, and the crowd marveled at the two electric weapons that Crystal wielded.

"...well." King hummed, before grinning. "That's fairly impressive."

"Thanks," and Crystal lunged at King with the two electric quills.

Before they hit him, King quickly grabbed the two quills; and to counteract the electricity, his hands began sparking with his own, blue electricity.

Crystal blinked in surprise. "…huh?"

Eventually, King's electricity began overpowering the electricity Crystal had produced, as the quills began sparking blue as opposed to purple.

Crystal's eyes widened…and when she tried to fight it, the two sources of energy exploded only in Crystal's face. The impact was so strong that it sent Crystal flying right outside the arena walls, automatically making King the victor.

While the crowd cheered, the brown porcupine looked worried. "Crystal?"

Humming, King decided to check up on Crystal, just to see if she was alright, especially after that impact.

Crystal was able to get back up, and a combination of purple and blue electricity sparked off of her. She just brushed if off like it was nothing.

"...you're a tough one." King mused with a chuckle.

This time, Crystal actually glared at King, and afterward, she silently left the arena.

King blinked a bit at that. With a shrug, he left as well.

At this point, the next contestants came out onto the field. One of them was the warthog, who still kept his eyes closed, even whilst walking into the arena.

Hunter was his opponent on the other end, walking out and looking curiously at the warthog. He kept his eyes closed a lot…and he didn't bump into anything, or trip.

"...good luck." the warthog said with a bow.

"…uh, yeah," Hunter replied in confusion.

Eventually, he ran at the warthog and threw a kick.

Surprisingly, the warthog ducked under the kick, before aiming a single punch at Hunter's gut.

Hunter was knocked back a few feet away, and he winced, clutching where the warthog punched him. He had a really hard hit to that punch…

From the crowd, that certain pig blinked a bit in intrigue. _...hm?_

In spite of having knocked his opponent away, the warthog... didn't move.

"…ow…you're really strong big guy," Hunter grunted, getting back up.

"...thank you." the warthog said with another bow; though still, he didn't move from where he stood.

Hunter looked and saw a chair that was at the side. He knew it would be a cheap shot, but to be honest, he just wanted to test how good this guy was with reflexes.

With a wave of his hand, the chair went flying at the warthog swiftly.

Without even flinching, the warthog swung his hand at the air, smashing the chair to splinters before it could hit him.

"...well, now..." Spiel hummed, smirking a tad.

Hunter's eyes widened.

"…how were you able to do all of that with your eyes closed?" he asked.

"...it doesn't matter... whether they're open or not." the warthog explained, as he finally opened his eyes... and he didn't even look at Hunter; in fact, he didn't look around him whatsoever.

Hunter finally figured it out, and when he did, his jaw hung open a bit.

"…you're blind…"

Hearing that, Spiel's eyes widened. _...blind... and still that strong?_ Instantly, his small smile became a full-blown grin. _...that is really interesting..._

The warthog nodded. "...this has been an interesting fight. My name is Krieg Verruga. Please remember it."

In that very instant, the warthog, Krieg, shot towards where Hunter stood, and threw another punch right at his face.

Hunter was knocked spinning into the air, and he landed out of the ring, making Krieg the winner.

Cracking his neck a bit, Krieg began walking out just as the crowd began cheering.

Even Spiel was applauding that show of strength, as he began walking out of the crowd. _...Krieg Verruga... perhaps I should get to know him better..._ he thought to himself.

When Hunter got up, the next opponent laughed at him. "Nice job!" Raider mocked at him.

"Oh shut up Raider," Hunter said. "I bet that your opponent's going to whoop your ass…"

"I'd like to see that happen," Raider mused, while he walked out onto the arena.

His opponent was the pink chameleon, who seemed to keep her hands behind her back; as if she was hiding something.

"Well hi there," Raider chuckled. "What have you got behind your back?"

"...a little something extra." the chameleon hummed, as she inspected Raider from head to toe. "You're pretty big."

"Thanks," Raider chuckled. Then he ran at the chameleon and threw a large punch at her.

With a leap, however, the chameleon avoided the punch. To add insult to injury, she even landed on Raider's shoulder; keeping whatever she had hidden behind her back from his view. "It wasn't a compliment." she said with a coy smile.

"Wah?" Raider saw her on his shoulder, and with a growl, tried to grab her.

However, the chameleon simply kicked the hands away; still remaining on his shoulder. "Just brawn and no brains, hm?" With a smirk, she began tapping Raider's head with her foot. "Just what I figured."

Raider boiled. "…GAH!" and he tried all he could to grab her.

This time, however, the chameleon flipped over from his shoulder to his head; avoiding his grasp. "You're not even trying, are you?" she mused.

"HOLD STILL!" Raider growled, aiming to headbutt her into the ground

And the chameleon took this opportunity to leap off him right before he'd slam into the ground; landing behind him. "No." she said in response to him.

Raider hit his head hard, and he rubbed it while he got back up; still growling.

"...that's not it, is it?" the chameleon hummed.

Raider got even madder, and lunged out at her once more.

Again, though, the chameleon leaped over Raider; "...alright; time to reveal it!" And in that instant, she tossed something that wrapped around Raider's neck; a long chain, which she used to vault the ox up into the air.

Raider was so shocked at that that he had no time to react.

With a cry, the chameleon landed on the ground, just as she whipped the chain in such a way that Raider would be sent hurtling right out of the arena.

Raider let out a scream as he hurdled not just out of the arena, but out of the _entire coliseum!_ The audience watched in amazement, and then cheered wildly for a magnificent victory for the chameleon.

Retracting the chain, the chameleon chuckled. "Nothing to it!" And she headed out.

Next, Jill walked out onto the arena again. This time, she wanted to see if she could fight this opponent without Callous' help. After all, she eventually remembered the remark that Will and his friends made that one night…

…and it bothered her so much that she would try to prove them wrong.

Her opponent was the cloaked person, who still kept his face concealed by a mask. He didn't say anything, though he gave Jill a brief nod.

Jill nodded back.

And with that, she threw a kick at the opponent. He stepped back, before he threw a punch at her. She was able to block that punch, and in return, she threw one. The masked man narrowly avoided the punch, before he tried kicking her. Jill jumped back, and after his kick was thrown, she lurched forward and gave him an uppercut.

That struck him directly under his chin, sending him flying up a bit, before crashing against the ground. Shaking his head, he got up.

Jill walked toward him, getting ready to counter him if he attacked. And he did; running at her with a punch. Jill stepped aside, batting his fist away and elbowing him in the back.

"Agh!" Coughing, he stumbled forward, before spinning around.

And Jill aimed a punch right in the face; against his mask.

The punch not only sent him flying back, but it also shattered his mask completely. Letting out a pained cry, he held his hands in front of his face; concealing it.

Jill stepped back a bit…and slowly, she stopped.

…even if his face was concealed by his hands…there were certain features about this guy…that she noticed.

"...oh, no..." he murmured, as he looked down at the remains of his mask.

Jill's mouth hung open…wondering deep down with growing fear…just who this guy was. She ran forward and yanked off his cloak that was around him.

"Ah- wait, no!" he cried out, moving his hands away from his face the moment she did so.

It was not what was under the cloak, but the face that Jill saw that instant. She let out a horrified gasp, stepping away. Flashes of her past went through her head so rapidly it made her head spin. That face she hated so much from that vampire…

…this man looked exactly like him. It was a Mobian bat with long white hair…even right down to the pale purple eyes…

…the thing was, he had much larger wings than was even normal for most Mobians, but once again, Jill was not looking at his wings at all.

She was staring at that face in absolute terror, shaking from head to toe.

The bat just looked right back at Jill.

Tears even rolled down her face, and she shook her head, trying to deny what she was even seeing…

…eventually, she spun around and hurried out of the arena frantically.

After she vanished, confused murmurs grew out from the crowd...

...and eventually, with a slightly panicked gasp, the bat rushed out of the arena from the other entrance.

* * *

><p>Jill had no idea how long she ran…but there was that adrenaline rush going through her; from years of panicked running. She was probably able to run for a very long time; off into the middle of the woods until she finally stopped just to heave for her breath.<p>

She was still shaking all over…

_No…no it couldn't have been! It's impossible!_ She thought to herself. _Callous! You've got to have some kind of explanation for this!_

_Hey, I'm just as confused as you are…but he seemed too much of a pansy-ass to even be him. Why don't you just calm down, will ya?_

_CALM DOWN?_

Jill threw a fist against a tree. _How do you expect me to calm down after seeing HIS face?_

"...Jill?" After a bit of silence, Sonia's voice cut through the air; the rattlesnake had apparently been looking for her.

Jill looked up toward where her voice was, wiping her eyes.

"Jill, where are you?" Sonia kept calling out.

Jill slowly walked toward her voice, since she obviously couldn't call out to her.

Eventually, she spotted Sonia... dragging someone behind her. "Oh, Jill; there you are!"

"Agh- please, let go of me!" And the one she was dragging? The same bat from earlier, who struggled to get out of Sonia's grip. "I didn't do anything, so what's the deal?"

Jill was so startled at the fact that it was him that she gasped and looked away uneasily.

"...I figured that's how you would react." Sonia sighed, before she looked at the bat. "Now go on! Apologize for what you did!"

"But I didn't do anything!" the bat protested.

"Obviously, you must have; Jill's scared out of her mind!" Sonia retorted. "Now fess up!"

"I keep telling you, I haven't done anything to her!" the bat said. "I don't even know her!"

Jill looked up finally, and she was able to look back…admittedly with some trouble, but she looked back at them.

…_he doesn't even know me…_

Looking back at Jill, the bat seemed... for lack of a better word, distraught. "...let me guess..." he murmured, before looking at the ground. "...it's the wings, isn't it?"

Jill was frozen for a minute, trying to actually process what he asked. _…he just thinks I'm afraid of his wings?_

In an honest and innocent gesture, Jill shook her head.

He blinked. "...seriously?" he uttered. "Most others are afraid of them..."

"Why?" Sonia hummed incredulously. "They're just big; nothing wrong with that, right?"

"...actually, yes." the bat nodded. "In my family... large wings like these are an ill omen.

Jill blinked again… and tilted her head a bit.

"It doesn't happen that often... but whenever someone with wings as large as this is born..." the bat began, as he glanced to the side. "...chances are that nothing but despair will be left in his wake... the wake of a monster."

Jill found that to be the strangest thing… because she knew what a monster was, and the more she looked at this bat…the more she knew that it wasn't the case at all.

So she pulled out her notepad.

_I wasn't afraid of your wings at all, _She wrote. _…I was afraid because you look like someone I once knew…he didn't have large wings like yours, but he was the worst monster I ever knew._

The bat blinked. "...someone you knew?" he uttered, tilting his head. "...what... was his name?"

…_first, I want to know your name,_ Jill wrote in response.

The bat blinked at that. "...um... okay..." he uttered, before clearing his throat a little. "...I'm Demi. Demi Novagod."

Jill actually jumped when she heard "Novagod." She covered her face to hide her grief.

If it had really been _him,_ her powers would have reappeared on his coming… and she would've sensed that evil a mile away. This bat was different…but…Jill had a feeling that he may have come from the same bloodline.

Just how many people would have the last name, Novagod?

"...is... something wrong?" the bat, Demi, uttered, as he tilted his head. "...is my name frightening you?"

Jill nodded without looking back at him.

"...huh... I can see why..." Demi murmured, before glancing to the side. "...the Novagods don't exactly have the brightest reputation; they've dealt with a lot of occult stuff the past decades..."

Jill wrote some more.

…_the Novagod I know… is the worst monster I've ever known. You don't have to worry about any despair…you haven't been through what I have._

Demi rubbed the back of his neck. "...what... Novagod did you happen upon?"

Jill looked at Demi for a long time, wondering if it would be safe to even let him know. Sonia being here didn't help, because she didn't want Sonia to know too much.

"...uh..." Sonia uttered. "...do you want me to leave?"

Jill nodded a bit, out of guilt.

"...okay..." Sonia nodded. "...just... don't get yourself hurt." And she began walking off.

Demi simply blinked at that.

Jill scribbled the name onto her notepad, but she still hesitated showing it to Demi.

"...well?" Demi uttered.

Jill eventually held the pad out to him, and Demi was able to see that cursed name.

_Deity Novagod._

"...Deity... Novagod..." Demi read out loud. "...Deity... Deity...?" And he looked at Jill with a baffled look. "...that... that can't be right. Deity Novagod died well over 60 years ago."

Jill shook her head.

…_maybe…that's what your family supposes happened to him…_ she wrote.

"...what are you talking about?" Demi uttered. "Deity died back in the era Sonic the Hedgehog still lived, so how could you have possibly known him?"

Jill looked at Demi with sad eyes.

…_on a technicality…Deity never died. He cheated death…_

Demi blinked. "...seriously?"

Jill nodded.

…_he was infected, and he gained these dark powers…he was even the one who murdered Sonic the Hegdehog._

Demi's eyes widened considerably. "..._what?_" he uttered.

Jill looked down at the ground in sorrow…nodding…

"...oh, man..." Demi uttered, as he held his head. "...I knew our family had a reputation, but _damn..._"

Jill eventually looked back up at Demi.

"...I mean... even though they deal in the occult, I've never heard of any cases where murder was involved... including the murder of someone like Sonic the Hedgehog..."

Getting a small idea in her head, Jill wrote down on her notepad again.

_I think there's someone you need to meet._

Demi blinked. "...wh-why?" he uttered.

_Don't worry; she's a good friend_, Jill assured in her writing. _There's so much to explain, and she would be very helpful…there's much more to Deity than just him taking Sonic's life…_

"...um..." Demi uttered, as he rubbed his neck. "...I don't know... I'd rather not be a bother to anyone..."

Jill shook her head, and hesitantly, she took Demi's hand to lead him away from the woods.

* * *

><p>"Sage…I miss my Mama," Joy sighed, sitting on the couch while she cuddled with her babysitter.<p>

"...don't worry, Joy; she'll be home any moment, now." Sage said reassuringly.

Just then, Joy suddenly heard the door in the hallway, and she brightened up; jumping off of the couch to stand. "Mama!"

Sure enough, Jill walked into the living room with a smile…

…and with someone else behind her.

Seeing that someone, for a split second, Sage actually panicked a little; her gaze set on the other being.

"...um... hi," Demi said with a nervous smile and a wave.

"Who's dat Mama?" Joy asked, just as Jill scooped her up and headed off with her into her room to put her to bed.

Watching Jill take Joy away, Demi eventually let out a sigh. _...hoo, boy... she's probably scared of my wings, too..._

_...no, I was just startled; you remind me of someone._

Demi jumped. "Wha- who said that?"

"...I did." Sage said with a nod. _I can read minds._

_...read... minds?_ It took a while for Demi to properly process that.

_Yup._ Sage nodded. _Long story._

_...right..._ Demi thought. _...so... if you can read my mind, do you know-_

_Yes._ Sage nodded. _I'm surprised that you're related to that man... you don't seem anything like him._

_...I'm kind of the black sheep of the family, to be honest._ Demi admitted. _Not that any of my relatives hold a candle to Deity, from what I've been told, but..._

_...so... Jill wanted you to meet me?_ Sage hummed, before she glanced back at the door where Jill vanished into.

_...yeah... I don't know why..._ Demi thought, as he looked there as well.

Jill eventually walked out, and she only looked at Sage.

_You probably already figured out who he is by now,_ she thought. _I wanted him to see you so that we could explain to him about Deity…I only told him a little bit; after all, I ran away from him in the tournament._

"...I see..." Sage hummed, before nodding. "...but are you sure? It's a lot for an outsider to take in..."

"...mhrm..." Demi uttered, as he shuffled about a bit uncomfortably.

…_it would help explain the reason why everyone else will start panicking at the sight of him…_ Jill replied. _…I…at least want to give him a fair warning._

"...alright..." Sage hummed, before nodding. "...I'll show Jill's memories of Novagod to you. That way, you'll know what to expect." With that, Sage sat herself down on the floor.

Demi just blinked, before he followed suite.

Jill also did that same, but she still felt a bit guilty about this. She remembered Cowpoke's reaction to all of this…and Demi probably was going to have just as hard of a time handling it.

"...I'm... ready." Demi nodded.

"...alright..." Sage hummed, before her eyes began glowing. "...then let us begin."

Demi surely wasn't prepared at all for all the visions he would see, thanks to Sage. It started out in Jill's village, and then it showed Jill seeing Deity Novagod.

Seeing Deity's appearance visibly startled Demi; though he remained silent.

"…That's why I was startled…" Jill's voice echoed in the void. "…you looked so much like him…"

"...yeah... the outfit's too regal for me, but... man." Demi murmured; too distracted by Deity to even notice that Jill was actually speaking.

Then it all happened so fast…Jill being tortured by Deity, the appearance of Callous, Bloom and Gloom, Jill sudden rise against them and sealing Deity away in the black emerald… Callous knocking her out and altering her memories…

…Demi watched Jill wander her way to being found by Miles "Tails" Prower and a bull named Brick. Afterward, a group of kids joined in with them, all of them interacted with not only Tails, but Captain Charmy, Cream the Rabbit and even Shadow the Hedgehog.

"…I learned about Sonic the Hedgehog through all of them, and his tales of heroism…" Jill narrated.

Demi just blinked, as he kept watching this.

"…then…came Metal Sonic…"

There was that famous message that Metal Sonic sent out years ago, presented by Shadow the Hedghog to all of the children. Then there was a flash of lightning, and Demi watched a robotic hedgehog stab Shadow to death. A distraught younger Jill stood up to the Metallix and after transforming into a very holy form, she was able to stop him in his tracks.

After Shadow's death in the company of the children and the elders, many visions were shown to Demi. Collecting the emeralds, including the black one that Deity was sealed away within, the reappearance of Callous, the introduction of King and his group, as well as Johnny Lionel… and a sudden turn where Jill started training with Metal Sonic for a battle.

Everything was happening so fast that Demi simply couldn't keep track; his mouth wide open in surprise.

"Even Metal Sonic couldn't handle Deity Novagod…so he trained me for a battle with Callous. Once I beat her, we would both go after Deity and bring him down," Jill's voice spoke. "…but then…"

There was another flash of lightning, and Demi witnessed Jill stabbing herself, causing her and Callous to collapse. Johnny ran to Callous, while Metal ran to Jill.

"…Callous was going to destroy Metal…so…I sacrificed myself to stop her…" Jill explained. "…both our souls were connected since Deity pulled a part of my soul out to create her…"

Demi could only gawk at that, as he looked back at Jill. "...so... you... died...?"

"…yeah…" Jill answered. "…but Metal was able to bring me back to life. Callous' soul and mine combined and we were able to be revived into my body."

Then the scene changed to a storming jungle, where a flesh Metal Sonic held Jill as she woke up.

"After that, we had to take down Johnny…but all along, Deity was waiting for the right opportunity to strike…"

It showed a large castle, getting engulfed in black goo.

"..and Demi…this is what kind of monster Deity was…"

The goo slowly started to form into a large dragon, and it roared at them.

Demi's eyes widened considerably at the sight of that dragon. "...gods..."

"Corruption is such a destructive, powerful force…" Jill told him. "…he had to be stopped, and the only way I could do it was if I had help…"

Next it showed both Metal Sonic and Jill with the seven Chaos Emeralds revolving around them, transforming into their super forms and taking off inside the mouth of the giant dragon. Inside, they were in this chapel, where Deity was strapped to the wall with red flesh and whatnot.

Still, Demi was utterly dumbstruck at this sight.

Eventually, they both landed the final blow.

"…and he was cruel…because he is the reason I mute…"

Deity suddenly grabbed Jill's throat and punctured it, making Jill gag. Metal was able to get her away, and after that, there was a blinding flash. When Metal woke up, he healed Jill's throat, but when Jill tried to talk, nothing came out.

Demi looked on with a horrified look. "...he..."

"…he even came back after death and tried to kill us all…"

Next showed the scene at Metropolis where that giant dragon showed up and tried to kill them. The majority of them tried to fight it, but to no avail.

"…then I got the silly idea to try and absorb his soul…"

Like she said, Jill ran up to the monster to grab it, and while she absorbed it, Demi saw the effect it had on her body.

Demi held a hand in front of his mouth; silently shaking it in disbelief.

"…but it didn't go like I planned…"

Metal Sonic showed up, and took whatever she absorbed into him, as well as taking the spirit and fully absorbing him. He collapsed onto the ground, and Jill hurried to his side, heartbroken and distraught.

"…Metal absorbed Deity's soul for me…so that I wouldn't have to suffer with him…"

"...unbelievable..." Demi eventually uttered.

Then came the scene where Jill left on the Babylonian airship and she ran to the back window to see Metal standing on the top of the tower…

Jill looked away from that.

"…since then, he's been sealed within Metal…so Demi…don't ever think that despair is in your future…because it won't be anything like _that…_"

With that, Sage's vision ended, returning them back to the living room in Jill's home. After all that, Demi couldn't muster up a single word to sum up his thoughts on all this. He had never, in his entire life, thought that his family could produce something... so _evil..._

Jill stood up, but she just looked sadly at Demi.

"...wow... you've sure been through a lot." Demi murmured, as he glanced down. "...makes me worrying about my wings seem... flat-out ridiculous by comparison."

Jill just kept looking at Demi.

"...I... should probably leave," Demi murmured, before he slowly stood up.

Jill set a hand on his shoulder, and tried to smile a little.

Demi looked back at her, and smiled a bit as well; though it was clearly forced, as he didn't want to seem depressed. With a nod, he began heading for the exit.

Jill stood there and watched him leave with a bit of a heavy heart. Knowing that he was descended from Deity Novagod was…a hard thing to take. It also didn't help to know the said family member had made her life a living hell…

…it was just a lot to take in.

"...something on your mind, Jill?" Sage hummed, as she glanced at the ewe.

…_I hope he doesn't take it too hard is all…_ Jill murmured. _…but I'm still worried how everyone else will react to him._

"...hm." Sage hummed. "...well... I suppose I can tell the others, like King and Queen about this. No reason for them to misinterpret the situation..."

Jill nodded.

"...well, I'll head off for the night." Sage said with a slight nod, before she headed for the exit. "See you in the morning, Jill."

Jill nodded again, and turned to go to bed herself.

* * *

><p>The next day, the training started off.<p>

Crystal was socking a punching bag, still mad about last night. After all, she didn't like losing battles very much, and at least this punching bag was able to take a few hits to help her work her anger out.

"...hey." At that point, someone approached Crystal. "What's up?"

"I'm busy; leave me alone," Crystal grunted, not even bothering to look back at the one talking to her.

"...you still mad about losing yesterday?" the one behind her hummed. "There's no need to hold a grudge, you know."

Crystal let out a mad roar, punching the bag hard enough to actually knock it off of where it hung, and landing on the ground with a thud.

"…what do you want?" she grumbled, turning to the one talking to her and folding her arms.

"...I wanted to ask you about something." And the one who was standing behind her was King, who had his arms folded.

"…okay. What is it?" Crystal asked.

"...your powers." King began. "I was curious, and wanted to know more about it."

"…I had them for as long as I can remember," Crystal answered. "What about you? Where'd you get your powers?"

"...got 'em in an experiment years ago," King said. "Don't remember much from it, but there ya go."

"…huh…" Crystal set her hands on her hips.

"...hey, I'm wondering..." King began, as he folded his arms. "...how much control over your powers do you have?"

"…I don't shock myself anymore, so I think that's good control," Crystal answered.

"Aah..." King nodded. "...say... would you be interested in some special training?"

Crystal's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." King began. "...I'd like you to train under me. It could be interesting, to train someone with powers similar to mine."

Crystal closed her eyes to ponder this for a while.

Finally… "…no thanks." And she went over to pick up the punching bag to hang it back up where she knocked it off.

King blinked. "...whuh... what do you mean, 'no thanks'?"

"…I don't like people telling me what to do; if I have problems with my powers, then I can fix it myself," Crystal replied.

King just blinked at that. "...so... that's it, then?" he hummed, before rubbing his neck. _...damn... can't just force her, either; that'd be wrong..._

Crystal stopped for a minute.

"...you're not gonna fight it?" she grew curious and looked back at King.

"...well, no." King hummed. "If you don't wanna do it, I'm not gonna force you. Only an idiot would've done that."

"…huh…" Crystal set her hands on her hips, but she smiled this time. "I thought you were gonna get angry and just stomp away, but I guess not. Maybe I got the wrong impression on you."

"...really, now?" King hummed, as he actually chuckled a bit at that.

"…maybe I was too quick to snap," Crystal muttered. "…but…maybe I could do some special training…you know, just to make sure I'm all set to go," and she turned away to go back to punching the bag.

"...alright." King hummed, before smiling. "Just swing on by when you feel like starting, then!" And with that, he began walking away.

Crystal just kept on beating on the punching bag, but when King was farther away, she stopped to watch him leave. She still wondered why she decided to give in… after all, she didn't really care to spend time with anybody…

…but she could use someone with the same kind of abilities to teach her a few things.

That was all though. Just someone to show her what potential she had with her abilities…

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the men's side of the camp, the brown porcupine didn't partake in any training; he just sat on a log at the side. He was too preoccupied with his robotic arm, typing away at the holographic screen that was lighting up from it, to even try any of the training.<p>

"...hey..." At that point, someone approached the porcupine; looking at him. "...what are you doing?" It happened to be Demi; who had managed to retrieve his cloak, letting him wear it to conceal the wings hiding underneath it. "Why aren't you training?"

"I want to learn a little bit about this island and who's on it before I accidently pick fights and kill myself," the porcupine answered, not looking at Demi.

"...I see..." Demi hummed, as he glanced to the side. "...um... how'd you get that arm?"

"I had a pretty bad accident that got my arm cut off," the porcupine answered, finally looking up at Demi. Then he smiled. "Thankfully, my Dad's a brilliant guy, and him and his scientist buddies were able to build this robotic arm for me."

"...ah... I see..." Demi hummed, before he tilted his head a bit. "...um... mind if I see what you're doing? I'm a little curious, so..."

"Sure, go ahead and have a seat," the porcupine said in a friendly tone. "…My name's Dax by the way; written on my T-shirt even." And he grabbed his white t-shirt to indicate "DAX" in green graffiti-like letters.

"...Dax, huh..." Demi hummed, before smiling a bit. "...my name's Demi. Nice to meet you." he said, before taking a seat by Dax's side.

"Nice meetin' you too Demi," Dax said. Then he looked back at his holographic screen. "So far, I learned a little about everyone's names. King and Hunter are in charge of training the guys, while Queen and one of the veterans, Sonia, help train the women. Ripper and Miser are in charge of the cooking for the Mess Hall, and Sage looks over the island to make sure there isn't any trouble going on."

"...wow..." Demi hummed. "...you found out all that just with that?"

"Yeah; as long as there are computers on here, I can hack them," Dax said.

"...wow." Demi hummed. "...then... where are the computers on the island? Can you spot them with your arm?"

"Yep, I sure can," Dax said, and after typing a bit, a whole map of the island showed up. Red spots appeared in many places. "All those dots are a computer," he pointed at them for Demi. "There's a lot around this island."

"Ah, I see..." Demi hummed, "Must come in really handy."

"Sure does," Dax said with a smile. Then he circled one area to zoom in; seeing a LOT of computers around in one area. "However, I've been trying to get into those computers, but I haven't been very successful yet. I think there's probably another computer geek on this island besides me."

"...another, huh..." Demi hummed, as he rubbed his chin a little. "...wonder who that could be..."

"…well, I suppose I'll find out who that is later," Dax said, turning the holographic screen off. "How 'bout you, Demi? How're you liking the island?"

"...hm..." Humming, Demi looked down at the ground. "...so far, I haven't had any problems... but I have a feeling that something might happen further down the line..."

Dax tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"

Demi glanced back at Dax. "...you ever hear of the Novagod family?"

Dax tapped his lip with his finger.

"…hm…I think I heard something about a Patricia Novagod…but that's it. I'm not familiar with them," Dax answered with a shrug.

"...I see." Demi hummed, before sighing. "...basically, it's a family who has a quite a reputation for their notoriety. They're probably most well-known for two things; their dealings in the occult... and, of course, Patricia's crime spree." Then, he rubbed his own head. "...kinda hard to visit your own aunt when she's in jail."

Dax covered his mouth in shock.

"…oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he muttered quietly.

"Oh, that's quite alright." Demi said with a sad smile. "It was only a matter of time before one of us was sent into the slammer..." Then, he actually chuckled. "Truth be told, I'm more of the black sheep of the family; I'd rather stay on the good side of the law."

"…well that's good," Dax said, smiling back. "I think it's a nice change…"

"...so do I." Demi replied, smiling as well.

"…my friend, Crystal though, probably thinks otherwise," Dax sighed, standing up. "She's not bad; she's actually a kind-hearted person. She's just stubborn and…she's got a bad attitude if you get on her bad side. She's actually gotten in trouble with the police every now and then…" and he chuckled nervously. "…so I suppose I have an idea of what you go through."

"...mhm." Demi hummed, before he stood up as well. "...well... you have your robotic arm... and I got something else." he sighed.

"…what's that?" Dax asked curiously.

"...my... my wings." Demi murmured.

Dax blinked, and he remembered the tournament when he saw Demi's wings. "…Okay, they're big, but I don't see anything wrong with them," he said. "…if anything; you'd have an advantage. Large wings like that could carry you much farther than most, and could even create some powerful gusts to use against your opponents."

"...I... actually prefer not using them." Demi explained. "Most people get scared when they see them... even my family calls them a bad omen."

"…huh…" Dax thought back at that tournament, and that woman running away. "...maybe that woman last night may have been afraid of them, sure, but that doesn't mean everyone else would be afraid of them."

"Most others I've met have been." Demi shrugged. "And... I've been avoiding using them for this long, so... kind of a bad habit, to begin with..."

"…well, I'm not afraid of them; I saw them last night, and I actually think they're pretty cool looking," Dax said in encouragement, smiling.

Demi smiled a bit awkwardly. "...well... thanks..."

"…watch out!"

Suddenly, someone jumped right in front of Dax, and it turned out to be Hunter, looking at Demi warily.

"Wah? Hey, don't be like that!" Dax uttered. "He's okay!"

Hunter looked back at Dax like he was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about?" Then he turned his head and took another long look at Demi.

Demi looked at Hunter, before he looked away with an embarassed look. "...sorry; I look like someone you know, right?"

Hunter blinked…and loosened a bit.

"…uh…yeah, but uh…" he still tried to compose himself, while looking at Demi. "…how did you know?"

"...I spoke with Sage yesterday." Demi explained.

"…oh, so uh…you pretty much know…everything…" Hunter felt a bit embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head.

"...yeah." Demi nodded. "Sorry for startling you."

"…I'm…just gonna go back to what I was doing…" Hunter said, walking away.

Dax stared at Hunter walking away. Then he looked at Demi. "…what in the world was that about?"

"...what I was talking about." Demi noted. "Basically... someone from my family had a huge, negative impact on a lot of people here."

"…wait a minute…" Dax stared at Demi. "…you mean…someone in your family has history with everyone here?"

"Oh, no, not with everyone!" Demi quickly corrected, "Just... a select few people."

"…who?" Dax asked again.

"...well..." Demi began. "...King, Queen, Hunter, Ripper, Miser and Sage, among others..."

Dax's eyes widened in amazement; "The admins here on Safe Haven? Whoa…"

"Yeah; I didn't believe it, either, when I heard it." Demi nodded.

"…okay, so Sage told you about a relative of yours they have a history with…" Dax put together all of what he heard. "…and because you look like the said relative, those admins are now going to freak out at the sight of you?"

"...until I explain that it's not what they think... basically, yes." Demi nodded.

"…I see," Dax said with a nod.

"...well..." Demi hummed, as he cleared his throat. "...I should... get back to training."

"Here, I'll join you!" offered Dax. "After all; two misfits gotta stick together, right?"

Looking back at Dax, Demi blinked... before smiling. "...sure. You're on." he said.

"Sweet!" Dax replied.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Oblivion was just walking through the woods on her own, minding her own business. She even stopped by a log and sat on it, smelling some freshly picked flowers she found on the way. It was nice and peaceful, and no one but Spiel made sure where she was. She still wasn't sure whether to trust Spiel or not, but at least she and Charon have been safe thanks to him.<p>

She smiled a little bit to herself. She may not be able to see Charon all the time...but at least he was still safe.

"...now who do we have here...?"

Oblivion's head rose, and uneasily, she looked to where the voice came from.

There, she saw a female octopus approach her, an eager smirk present on her. "...what's your name?" she inquired.

"…O…Oblivion…" the unicorn answered a bit shyly and uncomfortably, looking away from the octopus.

"Oblivion, hm?" the octopus chuckled, before she approached Oblivion. "I haven't seen you around, before... are you a newcomer, perhaps?" Then, she chuckled once more. "Oh, my; I forgot to introduce myself... my name is Hex."

"…I'm not a newcomer…" Oblivion answered, not looking back at Hex. "…I've actually been here since last year…"

"Oh, really?" Hex chuckled, before she slid a tentacle so she could make Oblivion look at her. "You must've been quite evasive, then."

"…y-yes…I am quite shy…" Oblivion answered, tensing up a bit.

"...shy?" Hex chuckled. "Why... that's adorable... you wouldn't mind if the two of us chatted for a while, would you?"

"…as long as you don't intend to hurt me," Oblivion said.

"...hurt you?" Hex hummed. "Why, I'd never hurt anyone..." she chuckled, as a devious smirk grew along her face.

Oblivion shuddered.

"I don't like that look you're giving me…" she uttered shakily.

"...what's wrong? Nervous?" Hex chuckled. "Don't worry; I'll take good care of you..."

Oblivion, sensing impending danger, pushed her tentacle away and got down from the log to try and leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hex chuckled, before she quickly intercepted Oblivion. "I don't want you to leave just yet..."

"W-what do you think you're d-doing?" Oblivion asked.

"...I just want to get to know you better." Hex chuckled. "An hour or so, and I should be satisfied..."

"…no…" Oblivion tried to run away in the opposite direction.

However, she was tripped when Hex shot her tentacles at her legs; gripping them. Oblivion hit the ground hard, and winced. She hated being so fragile sometimes…

With another chuckle, Hex began pulling Oblivion towards her. "All too easy... I'm going to savor this." she mused hungrily to herself.

"What are you going to do with me?" Oblivion asked fearfully.

"Why, I'm simply going to make you feel good." Hex chuckled. "Nothing wrong with that... right?"

Oblivion's eyes widened, having heard that kind of sentence much too often in her life. She knew right away what this woman wanted with her…and Oblivion was disgusted. "Yes, there's plenty wrong with that…" and she struck her hand right onto Hex's forehead, knowing what must be done.

Instantly, Hex's eyes widened. "What are you-"

Oblivion's hand became aglow in white light, and a rush of memories came to Oblivion, making her shudder a bit.

Hex was rendered completely silent, as she was unable to pry away from Oblivion.

Oblivion avoided the memories she couldn't handle…but one particular memory caught her attention. _…it's that woman with the child_, she thought. _…Who's Callous?_

She gasped, releasing her hand off of Hex.

Instantly, Hex collapsed to the ground; knocked out cold by Oblivion's move.

…_so…the rumors about her were true… _Oblivion thought, stepping cautiously away from Hex. _…there really IS a witch that lives inside that woman…I surely hope I don't incur her wraith…_ Then she turned around and walked away. _…and I will make sure to avoid Hex as well…_

She shuddered again at the things she had glimpsed at. _…she is a very sick woman…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Don't worry Oblivion. We all agree with you...<strong>  
><em>


	22. Chapter 22

It was a lovely summer afternoon, though summer wouldn't last long at this rate. Autumn was approaching after all…even then, it was nice to enjoy the summer while it lasted. Jill and Joy were having a nice stroll on this day, enjoying themselves. It was nice to see Joy smiling and jumping around and giggling. It was also nice for Joy to get out all of that energy. After all, Jill had been dealing with the "terrible twos" as everyone likes to call it.

For Joy, it wasn't so bad. She was just so _energetic,_ and sometimes it was problematic, but it wasn't anything Jill couldn't handle.

"A witch huh? Yeah right!"

Jill blinked, and turned around, witnessing a rather _large_ group of six soldiers confronting her; all of them newbies that she didn't even recognize. She tilted her head at them, wondering if they wanted anything.

"We'd like to test just how _bad_ this witch of yours is," snickered one of them, cracking their knuckles.

Jill did not like the sound of that.

Without warning, they all charged at her, and out of fright, Jill turned and ran, scooping up Joy on the way into the woods. "Mama?" the startled Joy uttered. "What's goin' on Mama?"

"Split up!" one of the soldiers told the others. "We'll be able to cut her off that way!"

Jill looked back worriedly, and tried to speed up.

Then after a while, she looked back again and noticed that some of those soldiers were missing.

"GOTCHA!"

Jill was thrown backward, running into something, and accidentally letting Joy go to tumble across the grass. Jill was suddenly punched in the stomach, and knocked down, where the rest of the soldiers were able to catch up to her.

"At Safe Haven; you don't run from battles!" chuckled another soldier. "So get up and fight!"

Jill glared at them, but she got back up. Then she looked worriedly over at Joy when she heard her start crying. Joy got scraped on her elbow, and she started crying.

"Shut up you little brat!" yelled one of the soldiers in annoyance.

Jill got really angry for that, and threw a punch at him. Then Jill got a few more punches to her face.

Joy saw this, and grew scared.

"MAMA!"

Just when she cried out, someone nearby heard it. Out of concern, the figure kept hidden in the brush, observing the situation.

Jill got beaten down so hard, and they came at her from everywhere. She was too outnumbered to be able to fight all of them.

_C'mon! You're not going to let a bunch of punks beat you up!_

_I don't need your help Callous!_

…_fine…suit yourself._

Jill finally got another really hard hit and she got knocked against the tree, with all of them laughing at her. When she looked over at Joy, she saw that one of the soldiers was restraining the little ewe to keep her away from her mother. She knew that she had to get up and teach these soldiers a lesson, and with renewed strength, she tried to get up.

Then the soldier over her just shoved her back down and pinned her there with a foot. "You know, you're not doing such a good job being a mom!" he mocked. "Aren't you supposed to take care of your kid and protect her?"

"I didn't even think they let kids on this island!" another soldier added in.

"You look awfully young yourself to be havin' a kid, doll," the first soldier that knocked her down said. "Did you get knocked up at fifteen or something?" and he laughed, kicking Jill to wound her even more. "Where's the Dad, huh? Did he bail when the little brat came along?"

Still, the observer just watched this cruel display, wondering why she didn't talk back to them...

"What's the matter? Got nothing to say?" The same soldier kept laughing. "Oh, that's right! You can't say nothin'! You can't even talk!" He kicked Jill again, making her wince, and causing another uproar in his buddies at this.

"Stop bein' buwwies!" Jill was surprised that Joy tried to stand up to them, but then she was thrown right down beside Jill, hurting her even more.

"You wanna fight, snot-nosed brat?" the soldier that held her said. "Then fight! This is Safe Haven, kid! Nobody's allowed to be a wimp!"

Jill saw the unthinkable happen…

The soldier actually punched Joy in the arm, knocking her back and making her cry even more. Jill was horrified that they did such a thing, and she became so furious…

…then the first soldier just kicked her back down when she tried to get up, getting more mocking laughter from him and all his buddies.

_...to think that they would... _the observer thought in disgust; he couldn't bear to watch any further.

At that point, he stepped out into view. "...that's enough." he uttered coldly.

The soldiers turned to look at this newcomer, and so did Jill and Joy. "Oh, are you the Dad then?" The soldier supposed this newcomer, making his buddies laugh. Meanwhile, Joy crawled closer to Jill so that her mother could hold her in comfort; both of them looking curiously at the one who was talking to them.

The newcomer, who happened to be a warthog, simply huffed. "...I want you to leave them." he said in a calm tone, before he cracked his neck. "Right now."

"And what are you gonna do if we don't, tough guy?" another soldier spoke, all of them approaching the warthog.

Joy trembled a little bit, and Jill held her close to try and comfort her again.

"...you'll find out." the warthog said, without moving from where he stood.

The soldiers all looked at each other.

"Let's get 'im boys!" and they all tried to bum rush the warthog.

That, however, proved to be a big mistake.

The warthog, without throwing a single punch, managed to both block the incoming attacks, and even make the soldiers attack themselves; leaving them to stagger away from him, whilst he folded his arms. "...is that it?" he hummed.

"…nope!" all of them decided to spread out this time, surrounding the warthog so that they could attack him at all angles.

Still, that didn't help; the warthog easily got them to stumble past him, without lifting a hand to attack them. "...are you done?"

"Unless you mess us up beyond recognition, then we ain't stoppin'!" all of them lunged at the warthog again, this time, getting impatient.

"...hm."

With quite swift moves, which one wouldn't suspect one of his size to be capable of, the warthog proceeded to punch each of the soldiers in the face, which knocked them all back. "...I'd rather not go overboard. Not in front of them."

Jill watched in amazement, as all of the soldiers were knocked down so effortlessly. They all ended up with bloody noses, and bruises from earlier; all of them groaning in the agony. The soldiers took another glance at the warthog, and even started whimpering out of fear, scattering and leaving the area.

"...huh..." the warthog sighed, before he turned and approached Jill and Joy. "...you're alright?"

Joy pulled away from Jill, looking straight up at the warthog that towered over her. Then she smiled. "Thankies lots, mistoh!" She said.

Since the warthog was so kind to help them out, Jill nodded in thanks. Slowly but surely, she pulled herself back up onto her feet thanks to the support of the tree. It still hurt though, and she could only move very slowly. When she was about to trip, Joy hurried over and helped Jill stay on her feet.

"...do you require assistance?" the warthog eventually inquired, as he tilted his head.

Jill shook her head, and then suddenly, her eyes locked with the warthog's. She noticed that this warthog was blind… and while that amazed her even more for how effortlessly he fought those soldiers, it also provided a problem. How would a mute communicate with a blind person if they can't even see or read?

…that's when another idea popped into her head, looking down at the ground to see footprints in the mud. It might have been crazy, but it was her only option. She took a nearby stick, and with a little help from Joy, she knelt down to write with the stick in the mud.

When she was done writing it out, she took the warthog's hand, and pulled it down to place it on the writing. That way, he could feel the letters.

_Thank you_, was what was written in the mud.

The warthog hummed, before nodding. "...you're welcome." he said.

Jill smeared out what was written, and she wrote some more, getting herself a bit dirty in the process. Once she was done, she took his hand and placed it over the writing again.

_My name is Jill_.

"...Jill..." he hummed, before nodding once more. "...I see... it's nice to make your aquaintance. My name is Krieg Verruga."

Before Jill could even respond, Joy toddled up to him. "I'm Joy and I two years old!" in reality, she held up four fingers, but Jill knew she didn't know any better and it's not like it would matter to Krieg.

Besides…it was sweet to her Joy actually introduce herself…it made Jill smile.

"...two years, huh..." Krieg hummed, before actually smiling a bit. Then, he slowly reached towards Joy, so he could rub her head. "...you sound like a good girl."

Joy giggled in response to Krieg doing that, and Jill smiled even more. Then she wrote something else in the dirt. As usual, she had to place Krieg's hand on it when she was done.

_I owe you for saving us._

"...ah, think nothing of it." Krieg said with a nod. "...I just couldn't let those guys do with you as they pleased."

Jill wrote some more. _Are you sure there's nothing I can do to repay you?_

"...I'm positive..." Krieg said, when all of a sudden, his stomach growled a little. "...well... maybe something to eat wouldn't be too much to ask for?"

"Mama's gotsa meekashake shop!" Joy exclaimed, throwing her arms up excitedly.

"...that sounds..." Krieg hummed, when he suddenly heard something. "...hn?"

"Jill!" At that point, Sonia approached them, and when she saw the state Jill was in, her eyes widened. "...holy- Jill, what happened to you?"

"Some meanie soldiers came and hurt Mama!" Joy said, while Jill tried to get up with some trouble.

Sonia quickly went to her side, to help her on her feet. "Don't worry; we'll get you to the infirmary..." she said, before looking at Krieg. "...you..."

"...I was just here to help." Krieg hummed, as he stood up. "Don't mind me."

"...well..." Sonia began, managing a slight smile. "...thanks." With that, she began taking Jill away.

"…bye bye!" Joy called back, following Sonia while she waved back at Krieg.

Krieg waved in the direction he assumed that Joy, Jill and Sonia were heading, before he turned to walk off. It seemed like that milkshake would have to wait...

* * *

><p>"Yah!" Crystal thrusted her electric quill out, seeing that the lightning could actually shoot off of it to get a farther distance. "Hey, you're right!"<p>

"See? You're getting the hang of it!" King laughed, before he threw a punch at the air; shooting electricity out farther ahead. "Just focus it, and launch it forward!"

Crystal plucked out another one of her quills to wield two simultaneously, and once she got the other one charged up, she pointed them forward with a jerk and even more purple electricity sparked forth.

"Wow!" Meanwhile, Dax was sitting on the sidelines, watching Crystal and King do this. Thankfully, they weren't pointing any of the attacks at him, and he was at a safe enough distance to avoid misfire.

"Alright; now, control the electricity in an arc!" King said, as he held his hand high in the air. Instantly, a bolt shot out from his hand, and shot down against the ground in an arc. "If you can master this kind of technique, you could practically attack around corners!"

"...what are they doing?" At that point, Dax would notice that Demi had approached them; sitting down by him to observe King and Crystal. He kept a mask on to hide his features; most likely because King was right in front of them.

"…Crystal's getting special training from King, since she can conduct electricity like him," whispered Dax.

Crystal tried that kind of attack, raising her quills to act more like wands as opposed to weapons. Unfortunately though, the electricity only shot up. "Darn it!" she growled.

"Don't get discouraged! Just focus on the downwards motion!" King said encouragingly; doing the same thing again.

"...how curious." Demi hummed. "...it must be an honor, to be training with the island's leader..."

"No kidding…" Dax replied.

Crystal tried again, and instead of just shooting straight up, the purple lightning bolt ended up soaring through the sky, and striking down in a different, remote location.

"…oops…hope I didn't hit anybody…" Crystal muttered.

"...doesn't seem like it; usually, they let out a cry." King noted. "Still, you're getting the hang of it! You just need to control where it arcs, that's all!"

Demi could only blink, as he noted how jovial King seemed. "...not at all what I'd have expected from a nation's leader..." he murmured.

"…I know," Dax added. "King seems like he's having a good time training her."

"...hopefully, no one will ruin it by doing something stupid..." Demi mused with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, hopefully," Dax also chuckled a little bit.

"I GOT IT!" after trying a few times, Crystal was finally able to arc the lightning bolt right back down on the ground from a perfect arch.

"Perfect!" King laughed. "Now, try with both quills!" And to demonstrate, he did the same thing, just with both of his hands rather than just one.

Crystal tried, but the lightning bolts both ran into each other. "…DOH!" she screamed, stomping her foot.

Dax couldn't help but laugh.

"Shut up Dax!" Crystal called out, glaring at him.

"I can't help it!" Dax chuckled.

Demi chuckled a little as well, though he tried hiding it.

"Don't let that discourage you, Crystal." King said with a grin. "You just gotta focus 'em individually! If you can thrust two bolts at the same time, you can arc two at the same time!"

"I know…" muttered Crystal, shaking her hand. "But I think I need a break…"

"Sure enough," And King quickly sat down on the ground. "Let's rest up for a bit."

Crystal started stretching, while Dax got up and walked over to them. "Not bad," he said with a smile.

"...you've got some talent." Demi said with a nod, as he approached Crystal as well.

"Thanks," Crystal said, stretching her arms.

"...just a question, but... how much has King taught you?" he inquired.

"…quite a bit actually," Crystal answered. "I didn't think he knew so much."

"Well, I've been working with these lightning powers for at least two decades, so I know my stuff!" King called with a laugh.

"...twenty years?" Demi uttered, as he tilted his head a bit.

"Well, I had them _almost _that long," Crystal muttered.

"Sixteen years to be precise, but I'm sure that King had more time to practice with his abilities than you did," Dax remarked.

"Oh, who asked you, you big computer geek?" Crystal chuckled, nudging him on the arm with her elbow.

Demi couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well, as he scratched his mask a bit.

"…how have the others been, King?" Dax asked, making conversation.

"...oh, they've been doing well." King hummed. "There hasn't been anything too interesting going on, so everyone's just going about and doing their thing."

"Ah, no trouble from any of the soldiers then?" Dax nodded. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah..." Demi nodded as well, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"...at least, no trouble that I've heard of," King shrugged. "And Sage hasn't notified me, so..."

Crystal kicked a pebble aside, growing bored. "Hey King; what's the story on that toucan and that cat, huh? I see them do nothing but fight each other all the time…"

King blinked, before he rubbed his chin. "...you know... I dunno." he admitted. "I've never really asked about what Flamenco and Lin used to do before they met us..."

"...perhaps we could ask him?" Demi suggested.

"Nah, he's probably too busy fighting," Crystal supposed, rolling her eyes.

Sure enough, suddenly from out of the brush, Flamenco came flying out and skidding to a halt in the dirt by all their feet.

"...speak of the devil." Demi hummed.

"Flamenco?" King uttered, before he looked back towards where he had been launched from.

There was laughter, and that very same cat walked out of the brush with her sword drawn. "As usual, you are _weak!_" she mocked with a bitter tone.

Flamenco clenched his teeth, dusting himself off and grabbing his sword, charging after her.

"This ought to be interesting," Crystal mused.

Demi blinked, though he looked at the impending battle with a slight hint of caution.

"…they've either been fighting for a very long time, or they were former dance partners," Dax said, typing on his holographic screen from his robotic arm. "They know each other's steps very well…they are almost in sync…"

"I thought that was just you describing it, Dax…" Crystal thought out loud.

"...either way, it really does seem like they have history," Dax added.

"...maybe..." Demi hummed, as he rubbed his chin a little. "...they were partners before?"

"…oh wait! They're talking!" Crystal hushed them to try and listen to Flamenco and the cat.

They locked each other in a block, and glared at each other. "Once again, I did not leave you on my own volution!" Flamenco growled. "You were the one that ran out on me!"

"Oh, blame the woman; that's your solution, isn't it?" the cat snarled.

"I blame no woman except you, Cyrene Margarita Xirgu!"

"How dare you! You do not deserve to use my full name!" and the cat, Cyrene tripped Flamenco off of his feet. Just when she would strike though, Flamenco rolled out of the way and got back up on his feet. Then they started fencing some more.

"...Cyrene... Margarita... Xirgu...?" Demi uttered, as he blinked a bit.

"...you know her?" King hummed.

"...I..." Demi quickly said, as he looked away. "...that is... I've heard some stories from my aunt... she's supposedly this infamous jewel thief. I didn't know that was her, though..."

"…yeah, she is!" Dax's eyes lit up, and he surfed on the web to find information on "Cyrene Margarita Xirgu". Numerous results for his search came up.

"…Damn, she's a wanted woman, isn't she?" Crystal asked, eyes widening.

"...hrm." King hummed. "...well, if nothing else... she's a damned good fighter."

Narrowing his eyes a little, Demi kept watching the battle.

The fighting started getting more complex; somehow, Cyrene was able to slip underneath Flamenco's thrust, and slice off one of his feathers. Then she caught it and held it up. "Ha-ha!" she sneered.

Flamenco smirked even more, and cleared his throat. "You may want to look again…_mi amiga_."

Cyrene blinked… then she noticed that she had lost a little weight. When she looked down…she noticed that her skirt had completely fallen off. Dax blushed fiercely at the sight of a half-naked woman, and Crystal just covered his eyes with a roll of her own.

In embarrassment, Cyrene picked up her skirt to hide herself. "This isn't over!" She snarled at him, running off.

Flamenco laughed and sheathed his weapon.

"...pretty unorthodox way of handling her, but nice swordplay, Flamenco!" King laughed.

Demi hummed, as he glanced at where Cyrene ran off to.

"_Gracias_," Flamenco said with a bow, approaching them.

"So tell us; what's your story with a jewel thief like her?" Crystal asked.

Flamenco frowned. "That is not something I enjoy discussing…"

"...harsh memories, huh?" King supposed.

"No, not necessarily," Flamenco answered. "It's just a long story to explain."

"...well, we've got time to listen." King chuckled.

"...actually, I've got something to do. Excuse me." With that, Demi hurried into the woods.

Flamenco looked at him curiously, but afterward, he shrugged, and looked back at King, Dax and Crystal. "…I knew Cyrene well…" he started, folding his arms. "…the two of us were former partners."

"…I thought so…" Dax muttered.

"...former partners, huh?" King hummed. "What, were you a jewel thief as well?"

"Eh…of sorts…" Flamenco said. "…I never really was interested in the jewels; she just needed my blade, but we grew up together and learned from the same teacher…I gave her my help on her "adventures" as she would call them."

"Ah, I see..." King nodded. "...so... what happened, then?"

"One of her adventures took us to these caverns; supposedly, the great treasure thief Rouge the Bat had hidden a stash of all her stolen treasures there, and as usual, Cyrene was interested," Flamenco said. "…When we got there, we discovered that it was a trap to catch the two of us. Both of us managed to escape…but eh, not on good terms."

"...why is that?" King hummed.

"Well, she claims that I left her, but we got separated," Flamenco said. "Then when I saw her, I saw her making a break for it with some of the treasure's in her hands. I ended up getting arrested…and once I was released, I just wandered alone from now on…well, until I ran into Lin a few years ago and we've been stuck together ever since."

"...I see..." King hummed. "...Lin doesn't know about this, does she?"

"I don't believe I have told her any of this…" Flamenco said.

"...well, you don't have to if you don't feel like it. It's not like Lin needs to know about this." King shrugged.

* * *

><p>After making his way through the woods, Demi looked around. <em>...she should be nearby...<em> he thought.

Eventually Demi heard some grumbling and rants nearby.

Hearing that, his ears perked. _That must be her._ Nodding, he snuck closer towards where the ranting came from.

When he snuck past some of the brush, he finally saw Cyrene. She was in the middle of fixing her skirt, which was just basically tying it tightly around her waist to keep it there. She had ran out in the middle of the woods to do it privately, while in the meantime, she was complaining about Flamenco. "That no good, womanizing…" and other things.

_...hm,_ Deciding to keep quiet, Demi simply observed her.

Finally, Cyrene was able to fix her skirt, and she readjusted it to fit properly.

"…you like what you see?" she suddenly grumbled out loud.

"O-OH!" Demi suddenly sputtered. "Ah- I'm sorry, I... I just didn't want to startle you! I came to ask you about something..."

Cyrene suddenly chuckled. "You didn't startle me, hon…I just wanted to make sure you weren't staring. I know a lot of men that would do that…" She turned around to face Demi and set her hands on her hips. "What question did you want to ask me?"

"...well..." Demi began, as he approached Cyrene. "...I was curious... does the name Patricia ring a bell to you?"

"…It just so happens to…" Cyrene said. "Patricia Novagod, right?"

"...yes." Demi nodded. "How do you know her?"

"…she and I embarked on a few "treasure hunts" as I like to call it," Cyrene chuckled.

"Ah, I see..." Demi hummed. "So the stories she told me were true..."

"She told you stories, huh?" Cyrene said, growing interested. "What? You related to her?"

"...actually, yes." Demi nodded. "I'm her nephew. Demi's the name..."

"Oh, another Novagod hm?" Cyrene grew even more interested.

"Yes." Demi nodded, placing a hand on his mask. "Though I don't really announce it to a lot of people..."

"Ah, not very fond of your family?" Cyrene asked.

"...it's more that I don't necessarily approve of what they do with their lives." Demi mused. "It's family, so what can you do, right?"

"So what brings a Novagod like you here to Safe Haven?" Cyrene wondered.

"...I was thinking that I could do something else with my life, instead of getting caught up in all that occult business my family's renowned for." Demi shrugged. "Safe Haven seemed like a proper place to get started, so..."

Cyrene nodded.

"…so…what was it that you wanted to ask me?" she said.

"...well, I was a bit curious..." Demi began, before he glanced behind him. "...that toucan... what's your history with him?"

Cyrene rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't even get me started…"

"...well, you and him don't exactly seem on the best terms with each other..." Demi noted, as he rubbed his chin.

"…yeah, we're not…" Cyrene said. "…he and I used to be partners…"

"...partners, huh?" Demi hummed, as he tilted his head.

"Yes, partners…" Cyrene grumbled.

"...so... just what happened, exactly?" Demi inquired.

"It was going to be the biggest heist of all! A rumor that said in a certain cavern, the famous jewel thief Rouge the Bat had hidden a large store of her treasure there!" Cyrene seemed a bit excited about it when she spoke.

"…but it turned out to be a rotten lie the government made up so that they could lure us in and capture us…"

"...oh..." Demi uttered, as he scratched his neck. "...that's..."

"…but as it turned out, there actually was some treasure in there; I made a break for that, and I was able to get away with it," Cyrene said. "But Flamenco abandoned me, and when I went to try and look for him, years later, I saw that he was with…" and she grumbled, growing sour. "…_other women…_"

"...oooh..." Demi uttered, as he rubbed his head. _..a bit jealous, then..._

"He claims I was the one that took off, but when I saw him having a grand old time with those woman, I decided to forget that I even knew him, and I took off on my own…" growled Cyrene.

"...huh..." Demi nodded. "...and... why did you come to Safe Haven, then?"

"Why, to practice my skills of course," Cyrene answered. "…but I had no idea that he would be here…I must admit that my first time coming here, and seeing him humiliated in front of all those soldiers made my day though."

"...I see..." Demi hummed, before he glanced up at the sky. "Wish I had interesting tales like that to tell about... but I don't."

"Give it time, and soon you can make the stories that you can tell to everyone else in the future," Cyrene said, walking away.

Demi blinked, as he rubbed his neck. _...huh... wonder how that would come about..._

* * *

><p>Ani was just sweeping out the steps of the pub one day, as her usual routine went.<p>

"...'scuse me?" At that point, the door opened, and someone walked into the pub; the pink chameleon. "It's open here, right?"

"Yeah, it is," Ani said, looking at the one who came in…and stopping.

The chameleon blinked, as she set her hands on her hips. "...what's up?"

"…you look like someone," Ani pointed out.

"...I do?" the chameleon hummed, as she rubbed her head. "Huh... really, now..."

Then, she snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah, that's right! Guess looks run in the family." she said with a snicker.

"Do they now?" Ani wondered, still trying to figure out who she looked like.

Then suddenly, she remembered photos that Captain Charmy once showed her.

After remembering that, her eyes widened. "No way!"

"...yes way." the chameleon said with a grin, before holding her hand out to shake. "My name's Nage. Nice to meet'cha."

Ani shook her hand with a grin. "You're related to Espio? Really?"

"Yep; that old codger was my granddad." Nage said with a grin. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

"No kidding!" Ani laughed. "Wait til I tell Captain Charmy about this!"

"Oh, you know Charmy the Bee?" Nage said with a wide smile. "Man, that's pretty awesome!"

"Know him?" Ani mused. "He and I are, like, the best of friends!"

"Seriously?" Nage said with a laugh. "That's even more awesome!"

Ani just laughed after that. Then she realized she got so excited that she forgot about her manners. "Aw, I'm sorry; I forgot my manners," she chuckled. "My name's Ani. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Just some grub, is all." Nage said with a grin. "And don't worry about manners; I usually forget about 'em, too!"

"Right," Ani laughed, and she went over behind the counter to get food started. "So, I heard that you beat Raider in the tournament back then. Nice job!"

"Eh, it was nothin', really." Nage said with a laugh, as she sat down by a table. "I mean, big guys are easy to trip so they fall over, y'know."

"Well, he deserved it anyway," Ani grumbled. "You probably noticed, but Raider's a huge jerk around her…and a creeper too."

"...eh; nothing I haven't dealt with before." Nage shrugged. "Just a whip of my chain, and he went flyin'!"

"Yeah, I heard," Ani snickered. "…but Raider likes to poke his nose in other people's business; in fact, he likes to collect information on as much people as he can…"

"Geez, really?" Nage hummed. "What does he do with it all; write the weekly newspaper, or something?"

"Nothing like that," Ani said. "I think he just gets some sick, twisted feeling out of knowing things that other people don't…either way, he's just creepy."

"Sheesh..." Nage huffed, as she glanced at the ceiling. "...so, if he goes around and does all that stuff, why aren't the higher-ups doing anything about it?"

"Well, there's only so much of them and whatnot," Ani said, scratching her head. "King and the others are doing the best they can after all, but I guess they can't really prevent everything that happens…"

"Hmm..." Nage hummed, as she rubbed her chin a little... and then, a mischievous smirk crept along her face. "...why don't we do something about it, then?" she chuckled.

"…like what?" Ani grew very interested, but she tried her best to pay attention to the food.

"...well, we've got to teach that Raider-dude not to be a creep, and to keep his nose out of other people's business." Nage chuckled. "Sooo... either we could go and smash all the stuff he's been collecting, or we could find some dirt on him to make him stop!"

Ani grew thoughtful.

"…come to think of it…I don't think any of us even know anything about Raider," Ani suddenly realized.

"...then this is a perfect opportunity!" Nage proclaimed, as she shot up from her seat. "We go and find out _everything_ about him!"

Ani smirked.

"That sounds like a grand idea…I know I got a few pranks up my sleeve…thanks to Captain Charmy…"

Then she scooped out the food onto a plate and handed it to Nage. "Here's your food by the way."

"Awesome!" And Nage instantly sat down again, quickly consuming what was on the plate, with practically no tact whatsoever.

"Although we know somebody who knew Raider back then," Ani said. "Maybe we can talk to Sonia about it too. I'm sure she'd really enjoy being a part of it."

"That'd be awesome!" Nage said with her mouth full of food, as she shot Ani a look. "Once I'm done eating, let's go see her!"

"Yeah!" Now Ani was getting all excited.

Nodding, Nage quickly focused on eating all of her food... which took just a few moments before the plate was completely wiped clean. "Delicious! Now let's get started!"

"Right!" And Ani was all set to head out, yanking off the apron.

"Don't waste time!" And Nage was pretty much already out of the pub at this point. "Once we find Sonia, we've gotta get my chain! I need it for serious missions like this!"

"Right! Let me show you the way to her cabin!" Ani said, running up ahead of her.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a group of certain soldiers were gathered together, talking amongst themselves.<p>

"…and right when he comes around, we drug him with that spray that Hex gave us," one of them said. "It'll be enough to beat him up, with his senses impaired."

"...I just wonder how we got it from her without owing her any... favors..." another soldiers said with a shudder.

"…who knows…" muttered a different one. "…all that matters is we get that smug little bastard for making us look bad…"

"Hey! Here he comes now!" called another soldier, running toward them.

"Alright; everyone, hide!" And they all did so.

Walking down the path all on his own, Krieg rubbed his neck with a slight yawn. _...I probably stayed up too late... I should cut down on that..._ he thought to himself.

The soldiers each glared at him while he walked by.

Krieg, however, didn't seem to notice them; as he was deep in thought. _...after this year of training concludes... I wonder... what should I do...?_

"…do it now…" whispered one of the soldiers to the other; the one holding the spray.

He nodded, and with a swift move, he ran right in front of the warthog, and sprayed Krieg right in the face.

Coughing, Krieg stumbled back; not having been able to see that coming, he was unable to do anything about it. With a wheeze, he sank to his knees.

"Alright, let's get him!"

And from everywhere, all of the soldiers went to jump him.

Being disoriented from that drug entering his system, Krieg was helpless to stop the soldiers from beating him senseless.

"How does that feel, huh?" laughed one of the soldiers beating on him.

Krieg made no response.

"Oh, what's that? No retort?" another of the soldiers laughed.

"Not so hot now, are ya?" another one grunted, kicking him in the stomach.

Krieg winced, but he didn't reply.

"Tsch... cheeky bastard!" another soldier scoffed. "Let's just finish him-"

And all of a sudden, he was grabbed from behind by his head; someone clamping down on his skull. "...the hell is this?"

The soldiers all immediately stopped and looked quickly at the one who grabbed his skull.

It was, compared to them, a massive pig, who didn't seem the slightest bit amused. "...the hell do you think you're doing?" he uttered again.

And the pig looked pretty intimidating…so the soldiers weren't really able to answer.

"...WELL?" And the pig suddenly tossed the soldier he was holding into a tree; splitting it in half the moment the soldier hit the spot.

The soldiers jumped.

"We were…uh…showin' this guy a lesson for…making us look bad…" the dumbest one out of the soldiers answered nervously.

"...oh, is that all?" the pig hummed; though he seriously didn't look amused. "So, were you dropped on your head as a kid, or are you just _really_ that moronic?"

"…what…?" questioned another soldier.

"You're telling me that, out of spite against a _blind man_, you all decided to gang up on him just to show him a lesson?" the pig actually _snarled_, as he cracked his knuckles. "...well, then... how about you try that shit on me? Go on; I dare you."

They all shuddered.

"...well?" the pig huffed, narrowing his eyes. "What did I just tell you? Come at me." Then, he grit his teeth. "...or are you just too chicken? In which case, why did you even come here? To pick on others to feel better about yourselves? Is that it, huh?"

One of the soldiers stepped forward… then he ran at Spiel to punch him.

"Wait!" screamed one of the other soldiers in fear.

Spiel just stood there, waiting for the soldier to hit him.

Finally, the soldier threw the punch at his gut.

And the punch had... absolutely no effect. It simply bounced right off Spiel's thick hide.

"...is that it?" Spiel snarled. "No wonder you go for the defenseless ones, you maggot." And without any form of mercy, Spiel threw a powerful punch right at the soldier in front of him.

That soldier went flying, while the others yelped in fear.

"You call this guy defenseless? You shoulda seen him when we were beating up on this woman and her kid!" one of them uttered.

Then another soldier slapped him. "Shut up you idiot!"

Spiel snarled. "...unbelievable..." And with more speed than one would give him credit for, he ran to kick one of the soldiers.

And he went flying as well, making the other soldiers scared out of their mind.

"...is that it?" Spiel roared. "Come on! What are you, men or chickens? Try ganging up on me; see if that helps ya out!"

They looked at each other…

…eventually, they all lashed out at Spiel.

However, even as they wailed on him with all they had, they didn't even make Spiel flinch. "COME ON! IS THAT ALL?" he roared again.

"…who is this guy?" uttered one of the soldiers.

"_**YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!**_" With that roar, a crimson aura suddenly erupted around the pig, before he grabbed two of the soldiers and _slammed_ them into each other.

Seeing the two soldiers practically destroyed like that, the remaining ones screamed in horror, and turned to run. However, before they could run, Spiel grabbed them by their heads, and lifted them up into the air; slowly crushing them in his grip.

They screamed out in the agonizing pain, bleeding more and more as Spiel crushed them.

Spiel almost didn't seem human, as he simply kept crushing them.

"...s...stop..."

With a snarl, Spiel turned his head to look at Krieg; bruised, bloodied and delirious, but still able to look up at Spiel. "...d-don't... kill them..."

Spiel simply glared at him for a while... before letting go of the soldiers; the aura around him subsiding.

The soldiers were still alive, but they were hardly able to move after sustaining injuries like that.

Spiel huffed. "...you get yourselves to an infirmary, and stay the hell away from him." he murmured, before he approached Krieg. "...you okay?"

"...fine..." Krieg murmured. "...just... feel warm..."

Spiel narrowed his eyes, before he glanced back at the soldiers. "...what'd you do to him?" he inquired; now a lot calmer than before.

"…we…used a drug on him…that Hex gave us…" muttered one of the soldiers on the ground.

"...I see..." Spiel sighed. "...y'know, she's probably gonna be on her way, soon. You should bail, before she drags you off." Then, he looked back at Krieg. "...can ya walk?"

Krieg didn't reply, but he slowly nodded.

"...right. Up ya go..." With a heave, Spiel helped Krieg get on his feet; quickly, yet not that rough. "We ought to find something that can get that drug outta your system..." And he began walking off.

While they watched Spiel walk off, some of the soldiers that had been spared were able to get back up, like the one that went through the tree, and the few that were punched and kicked by Spiel. The one's whose heads were crushed, though, were unable to move.

Choosing it as an opportunity to get away, they left their buddies behind. Despite having critical head injuries, they wanted nothing to do with Hex, so they just left them for her if she ever did come along.

* * *

><p>"Here we are! Sonia's cabin!"<p>

Ani was getting more and more excited about the idea that she and Nage got, and hopefully, Sonia would get excited too. She knocked on the door. "Hey Sonia! You home?" she called out.

At first, no one said anything.

"...maybe she's not in?" Nage assumed... just as the door opened.

"...oh! Hi, Ani!" Sonia said with a smile, before she looked at Nage. "And you're Nage from training! What're you two doing here?"

"We both had the best idea ever," Ani said with a big grin. "…well…truth be told, Nage came up with it…"

"...oh, really?" Sonia hummed curiously.

Nage nodded. "Alright... so I heard more about this Raider fellow, about how he's hoarding information about everyone... so I figured this; why not find out more about him? That way, we can hold everything we find out against him!"

"...how curious." Sonia chuckled. "And how do I figure into this, hm?"

"Well, you met him before any of us did, so I thought you might know some things about him that we didn't…" Ani said.

"...well..." Sonia hummed. "...the first time I met him was at that tournament before I came to Safe Haven... and to be honest, he seemed pretty much the same back then as now. He was a creep then, and he is a creep now."

"...right; that doesn't help us at all." Nage said with a nod. "Nothing else?"

"...hrm..." Sonia hummed, as she rubbed her chin.

"...anything?" Ani started getting a sinking feeling that Sonia probably didn't know any more than they did.

"...wait." Sonia hummed, as she drummed her chin. "...there's something... something not too far from when King announced the opening of Safe Haven..."

"…really?" Ani's hopes rose again.

"Yeah..." Sonia hummed. "I remember it because it was winter; so it was exceptionally cold. I was walking through my old neighborhood..."

_Though she had no further reason to be here since her family moved elsewhere, Sonia still wandered down the streets of where she had used to live. Part of her was hoping to find that old woman who had saved her life years ago, but so far, she didn't really have much luck._

_All of a sudden, someone shoved by her. "Move outta the way…" grumbled a voice she suddenly recognized, but before she could stop the guy, he walked away._

_Sonia blinked. _...wait a tick..._ she thought, before she decided to follow that guy._

_Sonia followed the guy through the neighborhood for a long time…almost to a point where it seemed like he was running around in circles._

_Eventually, the guy walked up to another guy that was standing alone on the street. First he looked around, and it confirmed who it was when Sonia saw his face. Raider didn't see anyone, so he looked back at the guy standing there with a glare._

"_You better make sure no one opens their fat trap about this…" grumbled Raider, when he handed the guy on the street a wad of cash._

"_Oh, don't worry," chuckled the guy, taking the cash and putting it into his pocket. "As long as those guys see you do it, I'm perfectly happy keeping quiet about all of it."_

_Sonia blinked curiously. _...see him do what...?_ she thought._

_Looking around again, Raider walked off once more, but this time he disappeared into a building, and the man that was given the wad of cash followed into the building with him._

_Narrowing her eyes, Sonia approached the building, to see if she could peek into it without getting spotted; she could still remember the last time she had tried that in this neighborhood._

_There was an audience of gruff looking Mobians in there, all eying Raider as he walked through the room, and the man that took the cash choose a seat in the middle of the room. "Alright Raider; all the stuff's in the back," he chuckled, getting another glare from Raider. _

_Sonia just blinked at this, as she kept observing the scene._

_Raider finally ended up disappearing into the back room, with all of them chuckling._

_Sonia squinted, to try and get a better view of the scene._

"_Hey Raider, you all set?" one of the men eventually called._

"…_what do you think?" grumbled that voice in the back._

"_Okay, open the curtains boys!" laughed another one, and there were two Mobians on the side that did so._

_When the curtains were fully open... Sonia just _gaped.

_Raider was standing there… in the most realistic looking giant chicken suit Sonia had ever seen. He stood there with a bit of a hurt glare, looking at all of the guys in the room laughing their heads off at him._

_Sonia practically had to clasp her hands in front of her mouth not to burst out laughing on the spot._

"_Oh, don't look so down Raider; it looks great on you!" chuckled one of the guys. "Alright! Cue the music!"_

_Someone brought a boom box to set it beside Raider, and they pressed play. It started to play music, and Raider, hesitantly, started to move._

_Sonia simply couldn't believe her eyes._

_And believe it or not, Raider started doing the chicken dance when he moved even more. This just made all the guys in the room roar with laughter. _

_It was almost more than Sonia could handle, as she stifled her laughter as best she possibly could._

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" And now Ani and Nage were rolling on the ground with laughter when Sonia told them this.

"I wish I was, but I'm being serious!" Sonia laughed.

"HOLY CRAP!" Nage laughed hysterically. "M-my- my sides are splitting! This is just too funny!"

"Why in the world was he doing that?" Ani asked, still laughing just as hysterically.

"Hoo..." Eventually, Sonia calmed down, though she still had a large grin on her face. "...well... remember how I beat him at that tournament? As it turned out, he had actually lost a bet, and had to do that chicken routine because of it." she said with a chuckle. "One of the men explained it to me after everything was said and done, but thankfully, Raider didn't see me."

"Oh god, that was priceless!" Ani uttered.

"I know!" Nage laughed. "Oh, that is glorious blackmail material!"

"Now!" Ani jumped up to her feet. "Question is, how can we use that against Raider?"

"...I dunno!" Nage said with just as much enthusiasm as Ani. "We'll think of something!"

"...don't go and get yourselves in a pinch, now." Sonia noted with a slight chuckle.

"Oh man…we gotta have some good time to plan something _this _good!" Ani chuckled.

"Well, we got plenty of months ahead of us, so that shouldn't be a problem!" Nage laughed.

"Well, thanks a bunch for telling us this Sonia!" Ani laughed. "I never thought we'd find out something so awesome like that!"

"No problem." Sonia laughed. "If you wanna know anything else, just stop on by," And she headed inside.

"Alright! Come on; let's get back to the pub and plot this out!" Nage said with a cheer.

"Oh yeah!" Ani snickered, taking off into the woods quickly.

But the moment she entered the woods...

BAM!

She slammed right into someone, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. "Ah- no, I lost it!" the one she bumped into uttered.

Ani stumbled a bit. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry-?" and then she stopped agape at who it was.

Just as he picked up what he had lost, he looked back at Ani. "...what?" Demi uttered; holding his mask a bit tighter.

Like Jill, Ani got a few flashbacks hitting her when she looked at Demi's face, which caused her to grit her teeth and clench her fists. She glared hatefully at Demi.

"...oh... oh, no, wait a minute!" Demi quickly said, as he scrambled to his feet. "You- you're mistaking me for someone else!"

"Am I?" she snarled, stomping toward Demi.

"Y-yes!" Demi nodded frantically, as he began stepping back. "I'm not who you think I am!"

"WHO COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE?" screamed Ani.

"GAH!" That frightened Demi to the point where he tripped again, as he just looked up at Ani. "Listen, I'm not-!"

"Ani, what's wrong?" At that point, Nage caught up to Ani, and saw the impending confrontation between Ani and Demi.

"Why did you come back here?" Ani kept screaming at Demi, ignoring Nage. "WHY?"

"I- I'm not-"

"Ani, calm down!" At that point, Nage grabbed Ani from behind to calm her down. "He's just one of the new guys! What's gotten into you?"

Ani tried to struggle. "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"Ani, for crying out loud, calm down!" Nage hissed, before she glared at Demi. "What the hell did you _do_ to her?"

"I haven't done anything!" Demi quickly said, as he got on his feet. "This is all just a misunderstanding!"

"HOW CAN IT BE A MISUNDERSTANDING?" screamed Ani, still trying to struggle. "YOU LOOK JUST LIKE HIM! IDENTICAL EVEN! THERE'S NO MISUNDERSTANDING THERE!"

Demi reeled back again, before he grit his teeth. "...BUT I'M NOT HIM!" he suddenly yelled right back at Ani.

Ani stopped struggling and remained silent, but she still glared at Demi.

Demi simply looked back at Ani, before he turned to leave.

When he left, Ani tried to breathe a little bit. Maybe she overreacted and panicked a bit… but seeing that face again…

"...geez..." Nage uttered. "...what made you flip like that?"

"…he…looks like someone…we know…" Ani muttered, still looking in the direction where Demi had left.

"...who?" Nage uttered. "Sounds like a giant prick, if he got that kind of reaction out of you..."

"…yeah…he is…" Ani muttered.

"...sheesh..." Nage hummed, before she patted Ani's back. "...let's go back."

"…right…" Ani said.

Nodding, Nage began leading Ani along, in case she'd collapse or something along those lines.

* * *

><p><em>A few weeks later...<em>

* * *

><p>"And fire!" With that yell, an arc of lightning was shot towards its designated target.<p>

More lighting followed its way to the same designated target.

And on cue, the target, which happened to be a rock of considerable size, burst into several pieces when both lightning bolts struck it at once.

"Very good!" King chuckled, before he glanced at his student. "You've gotten a lot better!"

Crystal rubbed her nose with confidence. "Yeah…this is really helpin' a lot! At this rate, I might even be able to directly channel the electricity like you can!"

"You said it!" King chuckled. "So, let's just review for a moment. What can you do with your powers after all this time?"

"I know I can do THIS!"

Crystal held her two quills tightly and spun around really fast. The electricity spun in a current around her, and suddenly, there was a large, purple, electric tornado spinning around.

King laughed, as he clapped his hands together. "Excellent! I hadn't even thought of something like that!" he complimented.

Crystal smiled. "I just thought of it now."

"Good; that shows that you're good at improvising." King nodded. "And improv gets a huge plus from me!" he added with a laugh.

Crystal laughed with him.

Dax just chuckled a bit. "…I think they're more like each other than most people give credit for."

"Alright; now, let's try and think of new things we can do with some improvisation!" King exclaimed.

"…hey! Who's that?" Crystal suddenly called out, pointing off in a different direction.

"Hm?" Blinking, King glanced towards where she pointed.

Jill was walking out of the woods and towards them, smiling and waving. Joy wasn't too far behind from her, and she was running around with outstretched arms; pretending to be an airplane.

"...oh, hiya, Jill!" King called with a wave. "How's it going?"

Jill gave him a thumbs up.

Crystal looked at Jill curiously, but lit up when she saw Joy. "Awww! She's so adorable!" she exclaimed.

"She is, isn't she?" King said with a laugh, as he folded his arms.

"Hi! I'm Joy and I two years old!" little Joy laughed, still whirling around Crystal as an airplane. Then Crystal snatched her up and Joy giggled some more.

"Hi, I'm Crystal and I'm sixteen years old!" she said, tickling Joy.

"Wow! You're old!" Joy laughed uncontrollably, struggling in Crystal's hold.

King chuckled a little, as he rubbed his neck. "...that's just priceless."

Crystal finally put Joy down on her feet, and as energetic as ever, she ran around. Jill only smiled as she watched, enjoying Joy in such a happy mood.

"Hi!" Joy ran over to Dax now, and he wasn't prepared for Joy to tackle him, so he ended up on the ground in surprise.

King chuckled again. "She's got a lot of kick for being that young!" he mused.

"Maybe you can start training her as well," Dax joked with a grunt, getting up with a giggling Joy.

King chuckled. "If she ever started shooting lightning, I'd be concerned and surprised." he mused with a laugh.

Jill would laugh along with King if she could.

Looking at Jill, King smiled a bit. "So, business is going fine as usual, right? Nothin' out of the ordinary happening?"

Jill shook her head. Then she smiled.

"...good to know," King chuckled. "...so, you feel like sticking around and watching me and Crystal train?" he suggested... when a thought struck him. "Wait... all the thunder and lightning's probably gonna scare Joy, isn't it?"

"Oh! I wanna see! I wanna see!" Joy exclaimed, jumping up and down impatiently. "I wanna see wightnin'!"

King blinked a bit at her unexpected enthusiasm, before he glanced at Crystal. "...well... should we show her?"

"…I guess," Crystal said with a shrug. "If she wants to see it, but if she gets scared, we'll stop."

"I won't be a scaredy! I won't be a scaredy!" Joy said, growing more impatient.

"...alright..." King hummed, before he held his hand up into the air... and a lone bolt shot right up into the sky.

Joy jumped quite a bit, but after a while…

…she started to smile, and clap her hands and giggle.

"Guess she's not afraid," Crystal supposed.

"...alright..." King hummed, before he held both his hands up in the air. "...let's see if two does the trick..." And from both of his hands, more bolts shot into the air.

"Oooooh!" Joy was more awed by that than surprised and entertained.

"Maybe I can show her what I did earlier," and Crystal took hold of the quills she was using to spin around. The purple electricity shot around her, and became its own electric tornado.

"…WOW!" Joy exclaimed, seeing this.

"...alright; I got an idea!" King said with a chuckle. "We both take hold of one of the quills, and try mixing our electric surges together into one!"

"Okay," Crystal extended one of her quills out to King.

With a grin, King took hold of the quill, and began focusing electricity into it. "You too, Crystal."

Crystal nodded, and purple electricity began mixing into the blue electricity.

"Aim..." King hummed, as he lifted the quill up so it pointed up into the air. "And... fire!"

A large bolt of purple and blue shot to the skies in a godly glow.

Joy's eyes widened in pure amazement.

Looking up at that, King chuckled. "Now that's a sight..."

"Sure is," Crystal agreed with a grin.

Dax then noticed something approaching in the sky. "…and so's that."

It turned out to be black, ominous looking clouds that were looming toward the island.

King blinked. "...what the...?"

Then there were a series of loud grumbles in the sky.

Crystal's smile dropped. "…I'm not liking the sound of that…"

"...me neither..." King uttered, as he narrowed his eyes. "...I get the feeling that we should all hurry on inside."

Suddenly, there was a thunderous boom, and a flash of blue and purple shot down at them. Luckily, it didn't hit anyone, once Crystal jumped away. "YIKES!"

A bit frightened, Jill scooped up Joy protectively.

"...yeah, I was right; it's a thunderstorm!" King uttered. "Let's hurry up and get inside, before any of us get hurt!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Crystal yelped, grabbing King's arm to yank him along while she ran. Dax and Jill were quick to follow.

"Maybe shooting that lightning up into the air wasn't such a bright idea…" Dax huffed while he ran.

"How were we supposed to know? We're not meteorologists!" King sputtered whilst running off as well.

"…what's that?" Crystal asked.

Dax sighed. "That's basically the people that figure out the weather for the weathermen, Crystal…"

"Argh! Let's just hurry inside!" King called.

Quickly they were able to get inside, just as another flash of thunder sounded. Rain starting pouring down by gallons and gallons, and all of the soldiers on the island hurried to get inside.

Looking out of the window, King had a fairly guilty look on him. "...we really screwed up now, huh..." he hummed.

"…hey, it's not THAT bad," Crystal tried to cheer him up. "It just means don't shoot up at the sky as much."

Then there was another flash of lightning that made her jump.

Joy jumped too, and whimpered a bit, holding to Jill.

"...well, hopefully, the storm should let up after a while..." King hummed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Never say things like that King XD<strong>_


	23. Chapter 23

Unfortunately, King was wrong. That storm lasted for a LONG time; all the way into the night even.

"...ugh; how long is this going to last?" Quickly running to try and seek shelter somewhere, Demi just glanced up at the sky. If he could just find a vacant place somewhere, like the pub...

...oh, wait, never mind; Ani worked there, and considering her reaction to seeing his face, it'd probably lead to problems far more severe than just getting wet. With that in mind, he racked his brain in an attempt to find out where on the island he could just hide.

Speaking of Ani, she simply stood outside of the pub, looking up at the sky with an angry glare.

More of those flashbacks hit her…but they weren't about Jill. Sage once showed her what happened between her dad and her mother… Ani had her own reasons for hating Novagod, because he allegedly was the reason she died.

…and for that, Ani couldn't ever forgive him…

…her and her dad always kept track of the nights, and tonight, this was going to be a full moon.

She'd show Demi…she'd even show Novagod if she could.

Finally, Demi found his way towards the coliseum, and quickly hid himself within the halls there. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he removed his cloak so he could try drying it; at the very least, his other attire hadn't gotten wet because of the storm. "...I'll just wait here, and it'll end soon enough..."

Ani had seen Demi run off, and followed him all the way to the coliseum. She just stood out there in the rain, getting soaked, and watching him.

After setting the cloak down on the floor to let it dry, Demi sat down against the wall, and sighed. "...I suppose I can just sleep here until the rain stops..." he murmured to himself.

"Or maybe you can sleep when you're six feet under."

Demi's eyes shot open, as he quickly looked towards where that voice came from.

Ani walked out of the darkness toward Demi, still ignoring the fact that she was soaking wet.

Quickly scrambling up against the wall, Demi just looked at Ani in disbelief. "...wha... what do you want?" he uttered.

"To talk," Ani stopped right in front of him, and grabbed him by his collar, shoving him further against the wall. "I found out you're a Novagod too…and how that damn vampire actually came from a family of crooks…not that I'd be surprised…"

Demi grit his teeth. "...I've told you, already; I'm nothing like him!" he uttered. "There's no reason for you to bear a grudge against me!"

"I can't help it!" Ani yelled. "He killed my mom, as well as terrorized my best friend!"

"But that was him! Only him!" Demi yelled back desperately. "Until I arrived on Safe Haven, I thought that man died decades ago, for crying out loud!"

Ani just shoved him back and stepped away, almost crying. "…I had to live without a Mom AND a Dad for a long time… I wandered around…I had to take care of myself…"

Rubbing his neck, Demi looked back at Ani. "...I'm sorry that it happened to you... but..." Then, he glanced away. "...you must know... beating me isn't going to change anything..."

"…I learned about what your family did, and I won't forgive any of them…and I especially won't forgive Deity for what he did to me and Jill…because you're a Novagod too, I won't believe your word on whether or not you're different…"

Ani turned back to Demi with a deadly glare. "Beating you up is the only way I might be able to rest a little more easily…"

And there was a hole in the clouds, revealing the full moon. When it shined down on Ani, she trembled, and fell to her knees, grunting painfully.

Demi's eyes widened, as he wisely decided to start backing away from Ani. "...what... what's wrong?"

"…I may have gotten this from my Dad, but he made it even worse than what my Dad has…my Dad is able to fully control his after turning…but I'm never able to control mine…"

Ani's fur started growing out of control, her limbs stretched out and bulked out in muscle, and she grew taller and taller, grunting and screaming with her changing voice. The more Demi witnessed of this transformation, the more panicked he grew, as he kept stepping backwards. "...dear god..." he uttered.

"…_and now…you're gonna see just how __**bad I am!**_"

Ani outstretched her large muscular arms with now had grown claws at the end, and she let out a horrible roar with sharp, jagged teeth sticking out of her mouth.

Demi quickly realized that there was simply no talking his way out of this sort of situation. Ani was practically intending to kill him... and with that monstrous form...

...he ran. All he could do was turn around and run as fast as his legs could carry him away from her.

Ani growled, and then she howled out into the night, to chase after him.

Back at the pub, Hunter's ears perked up, even from the concrete of their basement. He thought he heard a howl…

And his eyes widened. "…oh no…Sage, it's Ani…she's…"

"...I heard..." Sage uttered, as she narrowed her eyes. _...no doubt... she's gone after him..._

In the meantime, Demi had gotten himself out to the open arena of the coliseum; left empty due to the storm. However, as he had left his cloak inside, he figured that now would be a good opportunity to use his wings to get out of there. Spreading them open, he quickly took to the skies.

Ani wouldn't let him get away so fast though; she was able to jump up very high into the air, and slam Demi right back down onto the ground, pinning him there. _**"You're not going anywhere!"**_ She screamed in his face.

"Argh..." Demi grunted, as he desperately tried getting out of Ani's grip. "...please, just leave me be!"

"_**If you weren't ready to deal with your family's problems, then you shouldn't have even come here!" **_And Ani gave him a punch to the face.

Demi spat out some blood from the force of that punch. "...but... b-but I didn't... know..." he uttered.

"_**Even if you didn't know, you don't bother to stand up for yourself…**_" Ani said. _**"That just makes you even worse than them!**_" And she punched him again.

The punch knocked his head to the side... but for some reason, what Ani said seemed to have an effect on Demi. "...what...?" he uttered, whilst weakly narrowing his eyes.

"_**The crimes all your family committed…and you don't even try to stop them? That makes you worse than them! You let them get away with so much!"**_ And Ani punched him again.

This time, while he did flinch, his narrowed gaze slowly grew... fiercer. "...I'm... _worse_ than them...?"

"_**All you were afraid of was your appearance!" **_She punched him again. _**"You were afraid of almost EVERYTHING!**_" and again. "_**because of that, you allowed your family to be as outrageous as they are! That makes you just as responsible for their actions!" **_and she punched him once again.

"...just... as... responsible..." Demi uttered to himself, whilst simply enduring this barrage of punches. As he was being punched, however, his wings slowly began straightening out, even as he was being attacked repeatedly.

"_**And weaklings like you must make me sick!" **_Ani snarled, raising her fist for one last punch.

The moment she threw it, however...

...Demi suddenly grabbed the fist, and held it at bay; with seemingly no effort at all.

_"...do you even listen... to what you're saying...?"_

Ani's eyes widened at that.

As it turned out, now Demi was glaring right back at Ani; his pupils having grown thinner, much like a reptile's eyes, and his fangs growing exceedingly sharper. _"...comparing the sins of my family..." _he snarled, as he was actually managing to push back against Ani's power._"...you're honestly saying that __**I'm**__ worse than them? Even worse than Deity?"_

Ani was honestly shocked at what was going on…but she was starting to get angrier and angier, trying to push back against him.

_"...I've had it up to here with your remarks..."_ Still, Demi seemed to slowly gain the upper hand, while his body kept changing; his fingers growing sharper like nails, his body growing darker in color and his eyes literally turning blood-red. _**"...so leave me be!"**_

With that roar, Demi suddenly shot up to his feet and _pushed_ Ani away from him with thundering force; just as his gigantic wings, which seemed to have grown even larger, fully extended themselves.

Ani rolled over a bit, but she was able to stop herself on her feet. Then she noticed in shock what Demi turned into. Lightning clashed up in the sky, and still out of anger, Ani charged at Demi. With a fierce roar of his own, Demi took to the sky just before Ani could reach him; and with the extended span of his wings, he soared much higher now than before.

But this time, fleeing was the last thing on his mind.

Letting out another roar, Demi dove straight down towards Ani to tackle her.

Ani took him on at that, and though she tumbled over on the ground, trying to fight him. This time, though, it was Demi who kept up a barrage of punches; nailing Ani in the face each time he threw a punch. Ani snarled at every punch that hit her, and she tried biting Demi's other arm to get him off. Though he let out a pained roar, that didn't exactly stop Demi; if anything, it drove him further over the edge, as he suddenly bit down on Ani's neck. Ani released her teeth and roared out in agony, trying to punch him off.

Thankfully, a punch sent him flying off her, but he landed on his feet. As he growled, he smacked his lips; as if he tasted the blood he had drawn from biting Ani.

Ani wiped her neck, dripping with the blood from the torn open gash, and she growled back at him.

Demi let out a guttural growl, as he slammed his hands down on the ground; eying his opponent with a ferocious and hungry gaze.

Ani charged at Demi again, lashing out at him with her claws. She tore a gash across his chest, but Demi was quick to counter by slashing his own claws at Ani. Ani roared when he scratched her across the face, stumbling backward and clutching to it. Once again, Demi charged to tackle Ani; intending to pin her down against the ground. She wasn't able to stop him, and she ended up against the ground with another roar of agony.

Snarling, Demi bared his bloodied fangs, as he opened his mouth widely; managing to keep the much larger Ani underneath him. She tried to struggle but to no avail, watching the bloody drool drip from his fangs.

Then, once again, he bit down on Ani's neck; keeping a strong grip on her as he began sucking her blood. Ani let out a pained roar, but the more blood Demi drank, the less energy she had. She wasn't able to struggle very much afterward. And to make it worse, the more blood he drank, the stronger Demi's grip became. Ani could only barely growl in her attempt to struggle, but she was getting dizzier and weaker by the minute.

After a while longer, Demi stopped draining the wolf, and pulled away to glare down at his opponent. Ani glared back, still growling, but she lost her strength to even try and wriggle away at all.

Again, Demi let out a feral snarl, as he opened his mouth once more; with more blood dripping from it. When he prepared to bite Ani again...

...a powerful force suddenly sent Demi flying right off the husky-wolf; making him tumble against the ground.

"Ani!" Flying down next to her, Sage looked at her in concern. "Oh, god..." she uttered, before quickly kneeling by her. Ani could only glance over at Sage. She recognized her, and stopped growling with drooped ears and a few whimpers.

Then her eyes closed and she fell limp onto the ground.

Picking Ani up, Sage looked at her with a concerned look, before she glanced at Demi. As the bat slowly clambered to his feet, he gave Sage a wicked glare, before he suddenly took to the skies and flew off into the stormy night.

Narrowing her eyes, Sage looked back down at Ani. "...don't worry; I'll get you to safety." she murmured, before she began heading back to the pub.

While Sage carried Ani, she slowly started to revert back to her normal self, and with all her wounds and gashes, she looked even worse. Her condition, though, didn't deter Sage from getting back to the pub. The moment she entered the building, she locked the door behind her, before hurrying to Ani's room.

"Sage!" Hunter came out, making sure no moonlight hit him, and when he saw Ani's condition. "…oh my god... what happened?"

"...she went to fight Demi." Sage murmured, as she looked down at Ani. "And... somehow, Demi turned completely feral, and gave her a vicious beatdown..."

Hunter just looked at Ani in dismay.

"…you have to go stop him," he uttered. "I'll stay here and clean her up."

Sage narrowed her eyes, before nodding. "...I'll do what I can." Handing Ani over to Hunter, Sage spun around and ran out into the storm once again.

* * *

><p>"Dax! Why didn't you remember to get it earlier?"<p>

"I'm sorry!" Dax uttered, running out of the building. "Don't worry about it though; I'll be right back!"

Crystal watched him run out into the storm, heaving a sigh. "Not the best idea…but I'm sure he means what he says when he says he'll be right back…"

"...sure hope he won't get himself in trouble." King hummed, as he was sipping from a cup of hot chocolate; which he had prepared not only for himself, but for Crystal, Jill and Joy, too.

"…I hope not…" Crystal said, folding her arms.

What Dax had talked about was that he thought he dropped something back in the area where Crystal and King had been training. It would only take ever so quickly to go retrieve it and retreat inside.

Though in reality... it'd take a bit more time than he anticipated.

Over in that particular area, Demi happened to land in after having fled from the arena; growling lightly as he looked down at the wound he had suffered from Ani's attack.

And Dax was unknowing approaching the area where he was…

As if he could smell Dax approaching, Demi turned his head in that direction, and growled slightly. He felt hungry... and some prey was approaching...

At first, he didn't see Demi. He arrived very near the area, and started to look on the ground. He remembered that he dropped this thing on the ground somewhere.

Without a sound, Demi slowly began approaching Dax; more bloody drool dripping onto the ground, before being swiftly washed away in the rain.

"…aw man, where is it?" Dax uttered, looking around some more. "Dad's gonna kill me if I lose that…"

As he approached Dax, Demi suddenly stepped onto something. With a blink, he looked down at the object he had stepped on.

It looked like a tiny, round shaped locket. It was open, so Demi was able to see a picture of a much older female porcupine in there.

In his current state... he didn't exactly seem to get it, as he tilted his head.

Dax finally got to the area where Demi was, and he stopped with widened eyes.

Glancing up from the locket to Dax, Demi blinked... before hissing, as he got ready to just pounce the porcupine.

"…D-Demi?" When Dax got a good look at him, he stepped back. He couldn't possibly understand how this happened…but…

…when he remembered Demi telling him about that bad omen…he was starting to realize that it was more than just a superstition…

Snarling, Demi began approaching Dax; baring his bloody fangs, as he prepared to attack.

"W-w-wait! Demi! DEMI! It's me, Dax!" Dax called out frightfully, stepping away more.

At the moment, however, Demi seemed completely oblivious to Dax's pleas, before he leaped to try and pin Dax down. Dax yelped out when he was pinned, staring up at those fangs. "DEMI! Stop! Please!" he screamed.

However, his pleas fell on deaf ears, as Demi slowly opened his mouth; prepared to feast on his prey.

Dax screamed out.

And when Crystal heard it, her head jerked. "That was Dax!"

When Jill heard that, her eyes widened…

…then they flashed red.

"No! Demi! Please! Don't eat me!" Dax screamed like a baby.

Again, though, Demi was virtually impossible to get through to, as he let out a feral howl, before craning down to bite down on Dax's neck.

"NOOOOOOO!" Dax shut his eyes…

…then he felt a swift force knock Dax right off of him.

Stumbling to the ground, Demi quickly collected himself, and glared at whoever had denied him his prey.

"Dax!" Meanwhile, Crystal stopped right by Dax to help him up.

"Crystal!" he looked surprised to see Crystal…and then even more surprised at the one who was standing in front of him. "…eh?"

Jill was standing there, shooting a wide smirk at the large beast that was Demi with fiery, red eyes.

Hissing, Demi slammed his hands against the ground, and roared at Jill.

Jill would've chuckled if she could, and she just approached Demi.

_Man oh MAN…this kid definitely is related to him; no manners whatsoever. I suppose he was right when he said that his large wings meant a bad omen…I wonder what set him off?_ Jill thought to herself.

Roaring again, Demi shot right at Jill to claw at her. Jill ducked right underneath him, still smirking. Then she jumped and drop-kicked his back. It hit straight away, causing Demi to roar in pain. Staggering a bit away, he turned to glare at Jill once more; snarling viciously.

Dax just stared at this in disbelief and in some ways, so did Crystal.

"…she's…not worried about this at all…" Dax uttered. "…how…?"

"…don't know…" Crystal replied. "…when we heard you scream, she just…took off."

Jill smirked at Demi in the meantime, sticking her tongue out at Demi to taunt him. Roaring again, Demi took to the sky, before flying right at Jill to grab her by the throat. Jill was taken by surprise this time, and Demi was able to grab her successfully. With that roar, Demi proceeded to slam Jill against the ground, and grind her against it whilst flying in a circle around the area.

It went like that for a bit before Jill finally was able to kick him off, and jump away a bit, catching her breath. Flying up above her, Demi simply roared once more and Jill smirked.

_This is going to be fun…_

She motioned for Demi to come at her, and so he did; rocketing down at Jill with a punch. Jill jumped away from the punch and threw her own punch at his face. He took it, but to keep Jill from moving, he made sure to bite down on the fist. Jill cringed in the pain, and aimed a hard kick to Demi's gut to try and make him let go. It helped; but by that time, he tried jabbing his sharpened fingers into Jill's shoulders. Jill wasn't able to stop that, but she was able to pull away. She stood there for a minute, trying to catch her breath again while blood dripped down her body.

_Man, this thing is tough to fight…and it's getting annoying…_

Now Demi roared even louder, before he took to the sky again; glaring down at Jill.

Jill clutched to her shoulder, wincing. _Okay, so maybe fighting this thing might not have been as good of an idea as I thought…_

With another snarl, Demi flew down to pin Jill against the ground.

"Jill!" uttered Dax, watching Jill get slammed onto the ground by Demi.

With a victorious roar, Demi glared down at Jill; as if to see the terror in her eyes before feasting on her blood. Jill was too weak to struggle against him, but she showed no fear in front of him. As if he was dissatisfied by that, Demi roared loudly straight in Jill's face.

Jill just gave him a dry glare. _You think I'm scared, big guy? I've seen worse things…_

Crystal quickly plucked out one of her quills. "You'd better get off of her or else!" she yelled.

Snarling, Demi turned his head to glare at Crystal instead, before roaring.

Crystal held up her quill, allowing it to be a conductor for a large bolt of blue and purple lighting to strike it. Then the quill started to glow with the massive amount of electricity it collected.

"TAKE THIS!" and she shot her arm forward, shooting at Demi the largest blast of lighting no one has ever seen before.

The blast slammed directly into Demi, who was sent smashing straight into the woods; toppling several trees before he stopped.

Crystal ran toward where she shot Demi, while Dax ran to check on Jill. Now, Jill had fainted, and she was lying limply on the ground with a pool of blood around her.

"…oh dear god…" Dax just tried to keep himself from throwing up then and there.

As for Demi, he thrashed about; the electricity having done quite some damage to him. Roaring a lot weaker now, he glared right at the incoming Crystal.

"Are you going to behave yourself, now?" Crystal called, setting her hands on her hips with an expectant look at Demi.

He responded with a defiant roar, before trying to get back up; to no avail, however.

"I thought so," Crystal said, approaching the beast.

Demi kept roaring, though he was unable to leap up and attack her, due to that electric blast.

"Look buddy! You've done some serious harm to someone!" Crystal said, glaring at him. "You needed a lesson!"

Demi just snarled; he simply didn't understand what Crystal was getting at in his state.

Crystal looked up at the skies again, seeing another clash of lightning head her way. Instead of using her quill, she actually caught the bolt of blue and purple, holding it in her hands. "…whoa…"

Snarling, Demi weakly tried crawling towards Crystal; to at least get one good shot in at her.

Crystal saw him though. "Not so FAST!" and she shot that bolt of lightning at him from her hands. "THIS should be enough to knock you out for good!"

That blast sent him slamming through more trees. However, even though this practically nailed him to the ground, it certainly didn't help his mood, as he kept growling even whilst lying in defeat.

Crystal ran at him. "C'mon you stupid beast!"

Now _that_, however, seemed to be the last straw. With a loud roar, Demi suddenly pounced on Crystal, and managed to pin her down; glaring down at her.

"Agh!" Crystal let out a surprised yelp, staring wide eyed at Demi.

Growling, Demi prepared to bite down on Crystal...

...but the moment he was going to, he suddenly fainted; his body becoming completely immobile. From where he was lying, Crystal would see that his body was starting to... revert.

Crystal couldn't do anything else but watch, and in amazement.

Eventually, he had turned from a vicious, blood-thirsty beast, into the same old regular bat with large wings that he used to be; completely unconscious.

…and on top of her.

"…bleh…get off," she grumbled, pushing Demi off of her. When she got up, she looked down at the guy in wonder. "….just what made him change into something like that?"

"...hey!"

At that point, King came running in on the scene; looking down at Crystal and Demi. "...geez... the hell happened?"

"You should've seen it King; Demi was a huge beast!" Crystal said.

"...he turned into a beast?" King uttered, before shaking his head. "Listen, we should hurry off to the pub with Jill and Demi; Hunter, Miser and Ripper are using it as an emergency infirmary, because of what happened to Ani. Sage told me all about it."

Crystal's eyes widened. "He got to Ani too?"

"...actually... she got to Demi." King corrected.

Crystal blinked. "…I don't understand."

"I'll explain later." King said, before he picked up Demi. "Dax's already bringing Jill over to the pub, so let's not waste any time." And he began walking off.

Crystal nodded, and followed him quickly.

* * *

><p>Ani breathed a little more… and finally, she blinked, opening her eyes a little. "…what happened…?"<p>

"That's something I'd like to know, _young lady._"

Ani jumped at that voice, recognizing the tone was not a pleasant one, and she saw her father stand up from his seat and give her an expectant look.

"...is she awake?" At that point, King entered the room as well, as he glanced at Ani with folded arms.

"…um…" Ani looked very nervous.

"Young lady, do I have to remind you that on full moon, you're to be in the basement with me?" Hunter told her.

"…no…you don't have to remind me," sighed Ani in defeat.

"Then why were you outside?"

Ani didn't answer right away, looking more uneasily at her father and King.

King just looked back at her; drumming his fingers against his arm.

"…I…" Ani averted her eyes away from him.

"…you able to move?"

Ani blinked at him, and slowly but surely, she was able stand up.

"I need you to see what damage you did, Ani," Hunter said.

King hummed, as he opened the door, so he could let the two of them exit the room. Ani limped out of the room with Hunter, and when they got to the pub, Ani stopped.

Jill was lying on the ground, as well as Demi. Both of them were bandaged up; Jill looking worse off than Demi. Miser was trying to comfort a crying Joy while Ripper had watched over the two of them, and Dax was sitting with Crystal.

Ani looked over with drooped ears. "…Jill…" She was in a terrible condition… and Demi probably caused that.

"After your little _fight _with Demi, Ani, he wandered off and attacked Dax," Hunter explained. "He was lucky that Jill and Crystal came in to stop him, but Demi was too much even for Jill. Then Crystal stepped in and she was able to make him revert back…"

"...and from the looks of it, it was just by a hair, too." At that point, Sage walked into the pub; looking at Jill and Demi with a concerned expression.

Ani could only look at this in extreme guilt.

"…as far as Sage was able to figure out, you were the one that caused him to change into that," Hunter said, folding his arms. "Because you turned under the full moon and cornered him. I thought I raised you better than that, Ani…"

Ani felt like she could cry. "…I'm…sorry…"

Everyone simply looked towards Ani and Hunter at this point.

"…it was just that…Mom…she was killed and…" Ani muttered.

"You can't hold Demi accountable for the things Deity did, Ani," Hunter growled. "No one can…"

"...at the very least... you should apologize to him when he wakes up." King murmured, as he glanced towards Jill and Demi again.

"…alright…I will," Ani muttered. Then she felt dizzy and stumbled. Hunter grabbed her to make sure she didn't fall.

"You probably need to lie back down; you lost a lot of blood," Hunter said.

"...besides, it's getting late." King noted. "We should get ready to turn in for the night as well."

"Right." Sage hummed, before she looked at Miser and Ripper. "Could you two keep an eye on Jill and Demi for the night?"

"Of course, kekeke." Ripper nodded.

"...you should go ahead and get Joy home, Sage." Miser suggested.

"But Mama!" Joy whined, running to clutch to the unconscious Jill.

"I'm sure your mom'll be fine, kiddo…" Crystal said, trying to reassure her.

"...she's going to be fine, keke." Ripper said, as he placed a hand on Joy's head. "But me and Miser have to keep an eye on her for the night, keke..."

"...please, Joy." Miser said, as she knelt down by the small ewe. "You need to sleep, too; just like your mama has to right now..."

"…but…but I want my Mama…" more tears rolled down from her eyes, while Joy still clutched to her.

"...hrm..." Sage hummed, as she rubbed her neck. "...I'm at a loss, here." she sighed, before glancing at Hunter. "Should we let her stay with Jill, or...?"

Hunter looked at her.

"…we could probably let her stay here," Hunter said. "Let her sleep beside Jill, if that'll help her…"

"...hm." Sage nodded, before looking at Joy. "...alright... you can stay with Jill, Joy."

Joy smiled a bit, but she still clutched to her mother.

"…me and Dax are gonna head back to the barracks," Crystal said.

"...alright; you two be careful, then." Miser said with a nod to the two of them.

* * *

><p>When the morning came, everything was quiet. In the pub, nobody moved…<p>

…until Jill started to wake up. She felt a tiny pair of arms around her, and when she opened her eyes, she looked over to see her sleeping daughter beside her. She reached over weakly to pet her head lovingly.

"...kekeke... you're up..." she'd hear Ripper yawn a little from the side.

She looked to see Ripper there, and then she noticed an unconscious Demi that looked perfectly normal… and beaten up. She didn't remember what happened last night; it was all a blank. So she wondered why Demi was beaten up, and why she was as well…she also felt a little dizzy.

"...you shouldn't move too much; you lost quite a bit of blood yesterday..." Ripper noted, before he glanced back at Demi. "...thankfully, he was stopped before things had gotten too out of hand..."

Jill blinked, and then looked at him in astonishment.

_He_ was responsible?

"...it's strange, though... he took the least amount of damage, and yet... he's the only one who hasn't woken up yet..." Ripper mused, as he looked at the bat in wondering.

Jill wanted to get a closer look at him, so she tried to get up.

"Ah- are you going somewhere? Let me..." And Ripper gave Jill a hand, so she wouldn't stumble or collapse.

Jill nodded in thanks, and with Ripper's help she was able to limp over to Demi, sitting down beside him. She clutched to her shoulder sorely, wincing, while looking Demi over. While his wounds were bandaged, Demi didn't exactly seem at ease, even in his slumber. Jill reached out to him, shaking him a little to try and wake him up.

"...mnh..." he grunted, as he slowly opened his eyes; his expression remaining unchanged.

"...are you alright?" Ripper uttered; though he received no reply.

Jill tilted her head at him in wondering. _…what's wrong with him?_

"...I... did something horrible yesterday... didn't I?" Demi eventually uttered, without bothering to look anywhere but straight at the ceiling.

Jill blinked in astonishment at that.

"...after hearing those things she said... I snapped..." Demi kept murmuring. "...I just wanted to make her leave me alone... but when I got a taste of her blood... I lost _all_ control..."

Jill's mouth hung open a bit. He actually drank _blood_?

"...I... nearly killed her..." Demi uttered. "...and... Dax... I could've killed him, as well... and Crystal... and you, Jill..."

Then, he closed his eyes. "...guess she was right... I really am no better than the rest of my family..."

Jill arched her brows. What kind of things had Ani said to him?

To at least try and reassure him, she reached to set a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. She didn't want him to say things like that. Still, though, Demi didn't spare Jill a glance; he seemed more than guilt-ridden because of what had happened last night. Jill didn't know what to do or say…

"…Demi…"

And then Ani walked into the room just then, stealing Jill's attention.

"...hey." was Demi's more or less nonchalant reply.

"…listen…there's something I have to say…" Ani muttered, shifting her feet guiltily.

"...what?" Demi hummed, though he still didn't bother looking at her.

"…I need to apologize for what I said…it was really out of line…" Ani started.

Demi remained silent.

"…I want to say that you're not like your family…you're better than them, because you wanted to be different," Ani said. "What happened to you doesn't change anything… I had to live with that werewolf inside me ever since I was a little kid…but that doesn't change who I am."

Still, Demi didn't say anything.

"…you're not responsible for your family's crimes…and it was very unfair for me to blame you for what happened to my Mom, and what happened to Jill," Ani said. "So please, Demi…don't blame yourself for what happened last night…"

Still no response... at first.

"...what if it happens again...?"

Ani tried to think of an answer.

"…well…figure out what causes it, and do what you can to prevent it…" Ani answered.

"...but what if I _can't_ prevent it...?"

Ani fell silent.

"...as I figured... no answer." Demi sighed.

Jill thought of something, and she pulled out her notepad. _But you remembered everything that happened,_ Jill wrote. _Maybe there's a good chance you might be able to control it…_

"...control a mindless beast? Why would I want that?" Demi sighed.

"Hey! Controlling that mindless beast just might save a lot of lives in the long run!" Ani snapped back at him.

"...but what would I _do_ with that sort of power? Just hide away until I'd revert?" Demi murmured. "It took more or less a thunderstorm to cause me to stop to begin with..."

Both Ani and Jill didn't know what to say.

"…you can't do it alone…"

They all jumped, and shot looks over at Joy who stood up and walked over to Demi.

Demi blinked, as he finally turned his head to look at the little one. "...hn?"

"…you gotsa have friends to hewp you," Joy told him. "…you can't be alone…you gotsa have friends…"

"...friends..." Demi hummed, before glancing up. "...that's a new one; get friends... with the wings, and now this... feral state... I don't think that's gonna be easy..."

"…but friends help you when you don't know what to do," Joy reasoned.

Jill just couldn't help but stare. She may have been two years old…but her reasoning was very sound. It was spectacular…

"...still... who would wanna be friends with me?" Demi sighed. "And I'm sorry to say this, but saying that you'll be my friends isn't gonna help, because..." Then, he looked at Jill. "...you already know about what could happen to me, and understand that. Would anyone else do the same thing?"

"Dax!" Joy answered.

"...well... that's _one_, but... who else?" Demi huffed.

"Crystal!" Joy answered again.

"...I'm not sure about that, but alright; another one..." Demi hummed. "...but I have my doubts that there'd be anyone else..."

"Sage!" Joy answered again.

"...okay, you're just saying names at this-"

"You called?" And at that point, Sage entered the room, as she glanced around at those already inside of it.

"...Sage." Ripper hummed, as he tilted his head.

Ani realized what Joy was meaning. "Demi, she wasn't just saying names. Joy meant that Sage might actually be able to help you," she said.

"...oh..." Demi blinked. "...but... how? It's not like she can just pull this feral state out of me..."

"...well, you don't know that." Sage noted. "I helped Ani through this once, so I could help you, too."

"...but..." Then, Demi closed his eyes. "...this isn't like what that monster did to her... it's something entirely different..."

"How so?" Ani asked.

"...well... those immense powers have nothing at all to do with my transformation... hell, I don't even know how it came to pass..." Demi murmured. "...it's probably because of the wings; it has to be..."

"...you mean that you're basing your conclusion on some rumors in your family?" Sage sighed, before she shook her head. "I can figure out the reason behind your transformation in no time at all, so you don't need to fret over that."

"Yeah, I mean…you really want to believe your family, as opposed to someone like Sage?" Ani said.

"...well, I don't have any other answers..." Demi murmured.

"...then I'll find one for you." Sage hummed, as she sat down by Demi. "If anyone else is interested, they can come along so we can find out about this transformation of his."

Joy sat down beside Sage silently.

Ani sat down as well, looking at Demi.

"...alright... just close your eyes, Demi..." Sage hummed, as she placed her hands on Demi's head. "Joy, Ani, if you're going in with me, hold on tight."

Demi blinked, before he eventually closed his eyes.

Joy and Ani held to Sage. Jill also scoot closer to be part of this.

"...here we go..." Sage uttered, as her eyes flashed...

...and in that instant, the four of them found themselves in a pitch-black void; where literally nothing could be heard or seen, aside from themselves.

Joy just looked around in amazement. This was her first time travelling into someone's mind…heck, this is the first time Joy's ever really had a glimpse of Sage's power.

Looking around her, Sage blinked a little. "...strange..." she uttered. "...every other time I've done this, there's been something around..." Then, she narrowed her eyes a tad. "...but... there doesn't seem to be anything here..."

"…what does that mean?" Ani asked, looking at Sage.

"...I don't know if it's the darkness or something else..." Sage murmured, as she glanced around her. "...but I'm not sensing a thing here..."

However, to Jill (or at least a different side of her) would be able to notice something... something massive and malevolent.

Jill didn't understand why she was able to barely sense it…it didn't feel like she was the one sensing it, but nevertheless, she was able to slightly sense it. She stood up, and looked around in wondering.

"...Jill?" Sage blinked when she noticed the ewe acting like that.

When she glanced in one certain direction, however, whatever she sensed seemed to grow stronger; not because it was heading towards them, but because it happened to be in that direction.

Jill stared at it for a while.

Then she glanced back at them and held up her hand; gesturing for them to stay there. Afterward, she took off in the direction she sensed that malevolent force.

"...Jill?" Sage uttered once more.

As Jill kept walking, that malevolent force seemed to just grow; as if a titan was waiting for her at the end of the road.

This made Jill slow down a bit. She still kept walking, which was beyond her belief, because the thing she kept sensing was very…frightening.

_Oh, you pansy…_

Her eyes flashed red, and Jill returned to her normal pace toward this…thing.

The further she walked, the further away the others seemed to go; like the darkness had literally separated Jill from them, which seemed to leave her alone in the darkness.

_**"...so... you can sense me..."**_

Finally, she spotted something in the distance; though whatever it was wasn't perfectly clear from where she stood.

Jill smirked. "Now, why are you here by your little lonesome?" Though her mouth didn't move, her thoughts could be spoken aloud in this void of darkness.

_**"...come closer... and you'll find out."**_

Jill shrugged, "If you say so…" and she kept walking closer.

The closer she got, however, the more she'd realize that calling this being little, even in jest, was a far cry from the truth.

What she had seen was a cage; and the closer she got to it, the more apparent it was that it was housing something _gigantic; _as it seemed to tower far up into the never-ending blackness. Though the cage appeared empty, it was clear as day; that malevolence was emanating from within the cage.

"Now…this is interesting…" Jill remarked, tapping her lips. "…would you happen to have any connection to what Demi transformed into last night, perchance?"

_**"...I would."**_

At that point, within the darkness of the cage, a pair of gigantic eyes slowly opened; looking down at Jill. _**"He tapped into my power when his life was threatened..."**_

"I see…" Jill looked right into those eyes curiously. "…and yet, he locks you away because he is afraid of you…"

_**"...something I've grown accustomed to."**_ the being hummed_**. "Yesterday was the first time I've been able to break loose... and I was promptly sealed up again, thanks to that girl's lightning attack."**_

Then, the being narrowed his eyes. _**"...does my size make you uncomfortable? I can easily shift my being into something smaller, if that makes things more convenient."**_

"Oh, don't you worry your silly little head about it," Jill replied. "I've seen worse, so I'm not uncomfortable. My host, however…that's probably where you sense the discomfort."

_**"...oh,"**_ the being hummed. _**"So you're like me in a sense... only you don't seem to be locked inside like myself..."**_ Then, he closed his eyes briefly. _**"...tell me... what's your name?"**_

"I'm Callous," Jill spoke with a small bow. "I believe your host would know who I am…"

_**"...ah. Callous."**_ the being hummed. _**"I've seen what my host has been shown of you... a pity that I do not have a name to honor you with." **_he droned dryly.

"Just what are your intentions, hm?" Jill asked. "I heard that you couldn't get enough of the taste of blood, if I remember correctly…"

_**"...well, it was a most exquisite taste; the first I've experienced." **_the being mused. _**"Though, to be fair, most of that violent behavior was my host reacting to me breaking free; I'm usually a lot more docile when I'm not being forcefully constrained."**_

"So he just needs to learn not to be afraid of you," Jill chuckled. "Well, that'll be one heck of a time, won't it?"

_**"...it won't be that easy."**_ the being scoffed. _**"First of all, he'll have to accept me. Then, he'd have to give me a name; just so I could have a proper identity. Then it'd boil down to him having to stop fearing me, me wanting more space to move in, him needing to accept **_**that**_**, and the list goes on."**_ Then, he looked down at Jill again. _**"Wasn't it like that for you after Deity was sealed within Metal Sonic, Callous?"**_

"Well, it's been more along the lines of I can come and go whenever I please," Jill mused. "…although when you mention it…the only times I have taken over were dire times to protect…" Jill stopped right there, in a bit of surprise. She just started to realize all those times she took over…and they were only in self-defense…

_**"...to protect, hm?"**_ The being seemed a bit intrigued by that. _**"...not something I would have expected to hear from a soul like yourself..."**_

Jill just blinked…suddenly realizing why she was doing it as well…

"…it wasn't for her…"

_**"...hm?"**_ the being hummed curiously.

Jill turned and looked back in the direction she had come from; the direction where Sage, and Ani, and Joy would be standing in the darkness. Images flashed through Callous' part of her mind…images of that night when Brick was killed by those robbers. She could sense the overwhelming guilt, and hatred, and murderous intent that she never thought Jill could feel; all of it fueling Callous' power that night…

…but in the end, Callous only really did it to protect Jill, not necessarily for her sake…

…but for Joy.

She was the reason that Callous did those things…the girl already lost her father, so she didn't need to lose her mother too. Question is, why? Callous normally hated children…they were annoying, they cried and whined a lot…they were just wasted space to her.

Apparently not Joy.

Jill looked back at the floating eyes. "…it was for her daughter…"

_**"...ho."**_ the being hummed...

...and with that, a wide, fairly intimidating grin manifested itself from the pure darkness underneath the eyes. _**"...how curious."**_ he mused. _**"The Princess of Darkness has a soft spot, after all..."**_

"Now wait just a minute," Jill started getting irritated at that. "My name's Callous for a reason; I'm cold, tough and mean! But even then; that doesn't mean I can't be generous every once in a while…"

_**"Still, you're willing to do so for a child." **_the being pointed out; not losing his grin. _**"I just find that humorously curious."**_

"…you wouldn't be saying things like that if you had a kid too," Jill muttered with a grumble.

Again, the being simply chuckled. _**"Aw, don't look so frowny."**_ he mused. _**"Besides, how would you expect a monster like myself to have a child? I'd probably savor it more as a snack than something to protect." **_he quipped.

Jill didn't know why, but she was actually… disgusted by that.

…_what the hell? I'm not supposed to think like that…_

As if the being noticed that, his grin grew even wider. _**"...oh, dear, I think I'm actually starting to make you uncomfortable." **_he chuckled.

"…I suppose I can see why that kid is so afraid of you now," Jill grumbled.

_**"What? Because of my charming personality?"**_ the being chuckled jokingly. _**"I suppose becoming a mother has made you **_**soft.**_**"**_

Jill grit her teeth, growing more irritated at this thing.

"…Mama?"

Jill jumped with wide eyes, and shot a shocked look behind herself. She saw Joy wandering toward her, all by herself.

"…no!" Jill didn't want Joy to be there. "Kid! Get back!"

Joy stopped, and looked at Jill in surprise. She's never heard her mom talk like that before.

_**"...aah, so that's the little one, in the flesh... well, as much flesh as one could possibly be in this space."**_ With a chuckle, the being seemed to lower itself, as those gigantic eyes looked down at Joy. _**"What's your name, then?"**_

Joy looked up at these eyes in wonder…and slight fear. "…my name is…Joy…" she uttered.

_**"Joy, huh?" **_the being chuckled. _**"How nice to meet you. Care to guess what my name is?"**_ he added jokingly; as if Jill wasn't even there at the moment.

"…um…" Joy shuddered a little bit, stepping away. She didn't like the looks of this thing.

"Hey, back off!" Jill snapped, getting even more irritated.

_**"What? I'm just being friendly. Try it sometime."**_ the being quipped, as his gaze remained on Joy. _**"No need to be afraid. By all means, come closer."**_

Joy blinked…but eventually, she came a little closer.

"Don't do it Joy," Jill warned, making Joy stop and look over at her in more wonder and worry.

_**"...don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."**_ the being chuckled once more.

Joy just looked back at those floating eyes, and stepped closer.

Jill had to restrain herself from yelling out…secretly, she didn't want to prove to the being all the things he was saying…

When she had gotten close enough, the being grinned once more. _**"...why, you're just so adorable..."**_ he began. _**"...I could just gobble. You. Up."**_

At that point, what seemed like an arm managed to find its way between the bars of the cage, and picked Joy up by the collar of her dress; lifting her off the ground.

That startled Jill; "HEY!"

"Mama!" Joy yelped out of extreme fear, struggling and kicking.

Still, the being lifted Joy higher and higher. _**"Up you go."**_ he chuckled; without a single shred of compassion in his tone. _**"How far up can you go, I wonder?"**_

"PUT HER DOWN!" Jill screamed.

_**"...why, you seem upset." **_the being chuckled, as his gaze moved from Joy to Jill. _**"Could it be... you're actually fearing for her well-being?"**_

Jill bit her lip, and glared at him. He was really starting to get on her nerves… but she still didn't want to admit to anything he's accusing her of.

_**"...well? Where did your demands go?"**_ the being chuckled, as he just lifted Joy higher. _**"Aren't you concerned? Wouldn't you mind if I simply let her fall?"**_

For the first time ever, she actually felt cornered. She didn't know what to do _…god, now I know how _she_ feels…_

_**"...well? Your call,"**_the being chuckled once again. _**"Do I return her? Do I drop her? Do I keep her up here? What would you like me to do?"**_

She just didn't know what to do…

Then suddenly…something pushed her back. Not physically…but mentally. _What the…?_

"YOU LET HER GO THIS INSTANT!" Her eyes flashed green, shooting a murderous glare at the beast.

Next thing the beast knew, its arm got cut up, releasing Joy.

The being's grin instantly faded, as he let out a thundering, booming roar that actually caused not only the cage, but the darkness itself, to quake.

Joy fell through the air with a scared cry, but Jill jumped up and grabbed her, holding her tight. "Mama!" Joy clutched to her mother in relief and fear, while Jill just glared back at the large beast.

Retracting his arm back into the cage, the being glared at her. _**"...pushing her back like that..."**_ he snarled.

"Don't you DARE lay a dark hand on my little girl like that," Jill growled, and Joy looked genuinely surprised to hear a voice…was that voice her mother?

_**"...so the actual mother shows herself."**_ the being scoffed. _**"You certainly took your sweet time getting out..."**_

"Don't give me that," Jill growled.

_**"Oh, what are you going to do about it?"**_ the being huffed. _**"Give me a beating? It's not like you can wander into the cage; outsiders can't slip past the bars."**_

Jill narrowed her eyes. "…is that a challenge?"

_**"...what if it is?"**_ the being scoffed.

Jill set Joy down. "Mama?" Joy uttered, looking up at her mother worriedly.

Jill set a hand on Joy's shoulder, and then pushed her back a bit so she wouldn't be in the way. Then Jill spun around and ran straight for the cage.

_**"...oh."**_ the being hummed.

The moment she tried pushing herself between the bars, it was as if a hurricane blasted against her; to toss her back and keep her from entering. Jill stuck her feet in the ground firmly, fighting against the hurricane blowing against her while she shielded herself with her arms.

_**"...you'll be torn apart if you keep that up."**_ the being mused dryly, as the hurricane kept pushing against Jill.

"No I won't…" Jill kept pushing on, despite how much it actually hurt her.

_**"...what are you intending to prove, hm?"**_ the being hummed.

"…that I'm not a pushover…" Jill uttered, managing to push against the hurricane a bit. "…I've spent most of my life being someone that had to be protected…I'm so fed up with having to be taken care of…I have a daughter to protect, and _I_ want to be the one to protect her…"

Joy could only stare at this…

_**"...hm."**_

And in that instant, the hurricane seemed to stop, as Jill fell right through the bars. When she did, the eyes also seemed to vanish. Jill stumbled a bit, and being in the cage now, she looked around warily. The strange thing was that the inside of the cage, there seemed to be more light than it seemed on the outside.

_**"...I have many forms; you've seen one of them while I was released..."**_ At that point, someone stepped into view; though the size was nothing like the gargantuan being that had toyed with her earlier.

Jill turned to look at it.

It seemed like the feral version of Demi that had rampaged during the past day, but instead of clambering about on all fours, it was walking on its legs like a regular person, there was no visible mouth along its muzzle, and its eyes were completely blank. _**"...I trust that this would make things more fair."**_ he scoffed.

Jill turned to face it.

Joy just looked at this…

…then, her eyes suddenly widened.

She couldn't explain it, but these images started flashing through her mind… they were of her mother, but younger…she was standing in many places; city ruins, grassy fields, dark forests… but all the same, she saw her mother standing before an opponent.

One that even looked a lot like Demi…

_**"...hm!"**_ With that, it shot at Jill with a fierce uppercut. It took Jill by surprise, but she was able to counter with a kick to its gut. It stumbled back; though without a mouth, it was virtually impossible to discern if that had any effect on the being. The moment it recovered, it took to the air, and flew to slam into Jill. Jill ducked underneath it, watching it carefully.

Joy started getting more flashbacks of her mother battling a man that looked like Demi…he possessed very scary powers, and he did horrible things to Jill.

"…Mama…" Joy uttered under her breath.

For a brief moment, the being landed on the bars, before it shot back at Jill to kick her in the face. Jill grabbed the foot, and attempted to throw it down onto the ground. However, by using its wings as a cushion, the being stopped itself from hitting the ground. With a mere look at Jill, he kicked the air with enough force to hurl Jill off towards the wall of the cage. Jill hit the wall of the cage, getting some of the wind knocked out of her.

"Mama!" Joy yelped in fear for her mother's safety.

Without moving from that spot, the being got back on its feet; glaring at Jill. When Jill fell back onto the ground, she got right back up, glaring at the beast.

_**"...satisfied?"**_ the being hummed.

To answer his question, Jill just ran at the being to throw a punch at it. This time, the being caught the punch with his foot; folding his arms whilst still glaring at Jill. Jill yanked her hand out, and threw a kick instead. The being stepped away from the kick, before throwing a kick of his own at her. Jill took the kick to the face, but she wiped off her bloodied nose and charged right back at the being with another punch. Again, the being stepped away from that, and threw a punch of his own. It hit Jill in the face, again, and this time she stumbled away to take a minute and recover.

_**"...are you done, yet?" **_the being literally yawned.

Jill just clenched her teeth, as well as her fists. Then she charged with a barrage of different punches. But once more, the being opted to just avoid the punches; now not even bothering to attack Jill in return. Jill got frustrated with the fact that the being was just toying her. It was a feeling she knew all too well…

…and something else that Joy saw as well; her mother's frustrations with that one man…no matter what she did, she couldn't get him…

Jill tried to switch it up by throwing a headbutt right at the beasts head. As if it had anticipated that, the being slammed its skull against Jill's the moment it seemed like she'd hit him. Jill stumbled backward, and held her head in pain.

The being simply scoffed. _**"...you done?"**_

Jill shook her head, but she still took a moment to get over the pain.

The being actually sighed. _**"...look, this is just getting pathetic at this point. Why don't we call it a day?"**_

Jill took a few steps toward him, readying another punch…

…but she ended up tripping onto the ground, and after that, she was too exhausted to get back up.

The being just looked down at her with a flat expression.

_**"...I could crush you in an instant right now..."**_ he sighed, before sitting down. _**"...but I just don't feel like it. You're tougher than you let on."**_

Jill tried pushing herself up off of the ground.

_**"...look, you can stop trying to act all tough."**_ the being scoffed. _**"I get it; you wanna protect those dear to you instead of being a damsel in distress. You don't need to prove it to some monster living in some guy's head."**_

Jill rested a bit some more, and looked up at him.

_**"...at the very least, you have a spine."**_ the being hummed. _**"I can acknowledge that without being bitter about it."**_

Jill looked at him a bit longer, and then looked down at the ground.

"…Mama?" Joy toddled a bit closer to the cage, and Jill looked over at her.

_**"...you should probably head back out."**_ the being hummed. _**"You would probably wanna lynch me if she got hurt from trying to get in, so..."**_

Jill pushed herself up again, this time successfully getting up, and she went over toward the bars of the cage. As she walked through them, no hurricane or the like held her back. The moment she stepped completely outside, the utter darkness returned to the cage's inside, and the gigantic eyes returned; looking down at them once more.

"Mama!" Joy ran to Jill and clutched to her. Jill managed to pick Joy up and hug her back, looking at the large eyes.

_**"...alright, I suppose I should stop joking."**_ the being hummed. _**"You entered here to find out how my host could peacefully coexist with me, right?"**_

Jill nodded.

_**"...well, I was getting to that part until I decided to fool about with Callous..." **_the being hummed. _**"...I suppose the key is to let him **_**want**_** me to help him, and for a good reason. It's not like I just break loose every time he's about to die, or he commands me to give him strength to get revenge on someone..." **_Then, his eyes closed. _**"...though it makes me wonder... why **_**did**_** I get stuck in him...?"**_

Jill remained silent, although that was also something she wondered.

_**"...hm. I suppose it'll come back to me some time or another."**_ the being hummed. _**"He's not the first Novagod I've been in, after all..."**_

Jill blinked in astonishment. "…you mean…you've been passed down through the Novagod bloodline?"

_**"Why, yes." **_the being mused. _**"Most of them have been on different continents than this, but regardless, all of them were short-lived."**_ Then he glanced to the side. _**"Turns out that back in the day, people weren't exactly keen on murderous rampages committed by what they perceived as monsters."**_

Jill looked to the ground silently. They were still nothing compared to Deity…and he never truly died…

…but of course, she wasn't going to say that out loud in front of Joy.

_**"...still bothered about that one guy, hm?"**_ the being hummed. _**"Can't say that I blame you; he made me look like a saint in comparison."**_

Jill just looked up at him.

_**"...I mean, okay, I may be a monster locked up in a cage, but at the very least I have standards."**_ the being droned, before he glanced down at Jill. _**"Just between you and me, I'll make sure to keep my host away from that dark stuff. It's probably not my kind of thing to begin with."**_

Jill nodded in appreciation.

_**"...well... that's about all I can tell you. He needs to accept me, and to properly coexist with me, we need to come to a mutual understanding on how I operate within him."**_ the being hummed. _**"You can mosey on out and fill him in on that, because I'm not getting to say that to his face any time soon."**_

Jill nodded again, in understanding.

_**"...and hey; no hard feelings about earlier, hm?"**_

Jill looked at Joy, and then frowned at the eyes.

_**"...guess not."**_ the being hummed, as the eyes rolled. _**"Can't blame me for trying, though..."**_

Jill looked down at Joy again, and eventually, she turned to walk off.

_**"...later, then."**_ was the last thing the being said to them.

Eventually, the two of them finally made it back to Sage and Ani.

Ani's eyes widened. "Jill! What happened to you?"

Joy answered instead. "She fought that big, mean monster!"

Sage blinked, as she stood up whilst looking at Jill. "...you mean... the being living inside of Demi?" she uttered. "...did he say anything?" she inquired.

Jill nodded, and understood that Sage could easily pick up what he said from her mind.

And indeed; after checking up on Jill's mind, Sage seemed to get it fairly quickly. "...I see... so it's like that..." Folding her arms, she hummed. "...it's gonna be a lot for Demi to swallow, though..."

Jill nodded in agreement.

Then she noticed that Joy was just staring at her.

Sage noticed that as well, and blinked. "...hm." she hummed.

"…I say we get out of here," Ani replied. "I mean, I don't think we have anything else to do…"

"...right... I think we're done in here..." Closing her eyes, Sage focused...

...and with that, all of them returned to the pub; or, to Ripper, who had been watching this the whole time, they simply woke up after Sage had begun her look into Demi. "Kekeke... did you find anything?"

"...something..." Sage nodded, as she looked at Demi, who slowly opened his eyes as well.

Joy just stared at Demi now.

Jill set her onto the ground, and slumped back in a seat. As well as physically aching, she was also mentally exhausted…

"...mnh..." With a slight grunt, Demi glanced at Sage. "...so... what did you find?"

"...well... we- well, not really we, but..." Sage began, as she looked back at Jill. "...she found the being inside of you."

"...is that so..." Demi hummed, before he glanced in Joy's direction; noting the stare he was receiving. "...mh?"

Joy blinked and looked away from Demi then.

"...hm..." With that hum, Demi sat up in his bed, and glanced at Sage. "...so... what did you learn from it?"

"...well..." Sage hummed, before she glanced at Jill. _...he needs to know... doesn't he?_ she mused.

Jill nodded.

Nodding in return, Sage looked back at Demi. "...well... according to Jill..."

And so, she explained what Jill had found out while they had been inside of Demi's mind; how the creature had been passed down his family for generations, that he would eventually have to accept it, and that he would have to come to an understanding with it.

Needless to say, once Sage had explained what she had found out, Demi seemed more or less stunned.

Jill had fallen asleep in her chair by now, and Joy looked up at her.

"...well... that's... something." Demi murmured, as he glanced down at the bedsheets. "...only ask for its power for a good purpose... what kind of purpose would be good enough to use that sort of power for...?"

"...I'm sure you'll figure it out some time later." Sage said with a slight sigh. "...for now, you should probably rest a bit." Then, she looked at Ani and Ripper. "I'll take Jill and Joy home for now." she said.

"...alright, keke..." Ripper nodded.

"Yeah…I suppose I gotta let my Dad know what's going on," Ani said, standing up.

"...alright." Sage nodded, before she stood up, and lightly shook Jill; just to see if she'd wake up from that.

Jill jumped a bit, blinking and rubbing her eyes.

"...come on, Jill; it's time to go home. You can rest up there." Sage said with a slight smile.

Jill nodded and stood up a little.

"Let's go Mama," Joy said, taking Jill's hand.

Sage took Jill's other arm, as they began heading out.

"...Jill." Demi suddenly called before they fully left.

Jill stopped and looked back at Demi.

When she looked at him... Demi was actually smiling the tiniest of smiles, as he gave Jill a nod. "...thanks." he said in a grateful tone.

Jill smiled and nodded back at him. Then she turned to leave out the door with Joy and Sage. They followed her out, and closed the door behind them.

"...you got some really good friends..." Demi hummed to Ani, as he looked up at the ceiling. "...makes me kind of jealous..."

"Hey, given some time, you'll get some good friends of your own," Ani assured him.

"...I hope so." Demi mused. "...wonder if I can make some here on the island...?"

"Well, you've already got Dax and Crystal, right?" Ani said.

Right on cue, the doors opened, and guess who walked through the doors? "Hey, Demi, you're awake!' Dax said, with Crystal following him. "You feeling any better?"

Demi looked at the two of them with a slightly surprised look, before nodding. "...yes; I'm feeling better." he nodded. "What about you two?"

"Oh, don't worry about us; we're fine," Crystal said.

"...that's good to hear." Demi hummed with a nod, before glancing down again. "...um... sorry for scaring you guys yesterday..."

"…hey, don't worry about that," Dax said, smiling a bit.

"...right..." Demi hummed, before managing a slight smile. "...I just wanted to be sure that you weren't worrying about it."

"Well, we wouldn't be scared by that anyway," Crystal said, folding her arms. "I've seen worse."

"...really?" Demi blinked, as he tilted his head. "...like what?"

"Oh, you know; other kinds of creatures," Crystal chuckled.

Dax rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh, don't ask…"

"...why not?" Demi said with a slightly bigger smile. "I'd love to hear about what sort of creatures you've met."

"Giant ones! That look like dinosaurs and giant spiders!" Crystal started excitedly. "With these large fangs!" and she put two fingers beside her smirk to make them seem like fangs.

Demi couldn't help but chuckle at Crystal's enthusiasm.

"Yeah…uh, I got stuck in one of their spider webs," Dax muttered sheepishly.

"But don't worry! A bit of thunder and lightning cooked them up!" Crystal laughed.

Demi chuckled a bit, as he rubbed his neck.

"I have to admit, they tasted pretty good too," Crystal chuckled.

"Okay, I've heard enough!" Dax stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"...hm." Well, he hadn't expected that she ate them, but... this was entertaining to listen to. "...could you tell me some more stories?"

"Sure," Crystal said, taking a seat.

Adjusting himself where he sat, Demi looked at Crystal. "Alright, um... so what would you like to start with?"

"How about how I met Dax?" Crystal chuckled. "It was really funny the first time meeting him."

"Yes, it was," Dax agreed with a nervous chuckle.

"...really?" Demi hummed in intrigue. "Alright; let's hear it."

"Alright, how to start off…" Crystal put up her feet on the table to think. "Hm…"

"...maybe about where you were before encountering him?" Demi suggested.

"…yeah, I'll start there!" Crystal said. "I was just walking down the streets of Station Square."

_Like Crystal said, she was walking down the streets of Station Square on a sunny morning, whistling to herself while she walked downhill. Then she suddenly heard a commotion._

"_NO! PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!"_

_Crystal stopped short, and looked around. "Hm?" Then she ran toward where she heard that cry._

_"What are you talking about?" she heard someone chuckle; it seemed like there was more than one of them. About three or so was a valid guess. "We're not gonna hurt you; you seem more than eager to do so yourself!" Then, those voices began laughing again. "See? You're doing it again!"_

_Crystal finally made it, and she folded her arms as she watched._

_There was a brown porcupine that had a robotic arm; it had been plucked out of place and a group of Mobians were using it to hit him._

_"Come on; stop hitting yourself, already!" the thug that was holding the arm chuckled, as he kept knocking it across Dax's head._

_"Anybody in there, or what?" another thug laughed. "We knock and we knock, but no one's answering!" And the thugs broke out into wild laughter._

"_Hey, cut it out!" whined the brown porcupine._

_"Or else what? Are you gonna suddenly man up and whoop us?" the thug knocking his arm against his head laughed. "Fat chance!"_

"_Whoa, hey now!" Crystal finally stepped in, and for a moment, the other porcupine was relieved. "Fella's, that's no way to pick on someone like him. Gimmie that arm, and I'll show you how a pro bully picks on him."_

_The other porcupine looked disheartened by that._

_"...a pro, huh?" the first thug blinked. "Even though you're a girl?"_

_"Hey, hey; don't knock her before ya see her in action!" the other thug laughed. "Trust me; when a girl bullies someone, it's beyond high-class entertainment!"_

_"...well, if ya say so." the first thug chuckled, before handing Crystal the arm. "Alright, pro bully; show us what you can do."_

"_Okay," Crystal took the arm and walked up to the other porcupine. "So, to start off, you have to hit him like THIS!"_

_But instead of hitting the other porcupine, she started to beat up on the thugs; each hitting them in the back of their heads._

_The thugs didn't exactly expect that, as they held their heads in pain while backing off. "...OW! The hell are you playing at?" the first thug snarled, as he glared at Crystal._

"_Oops! I musta slipped!" Crystal remarked in a snarky tone. "What I meant was, you had to do THIS to him!" And though it suddenly looked like she was going to hit the porcupine, she spun and knocked the arm against their shins and legs._

_"YEOW!" the thugs yelled again, but this time, they glared at Crystal. "What the hell? You're doing that on purpose!"_

"_NAW! What coulda given you _that _idea?" Crystal laughed. "And last but not least… you have to do THIS!"_

_The other porcupine jumped when a spark of purple electricity crackled out of his robotic arm, and Crystal gave the thugs a sinister grin. Then she swung the electric arm at them._

_"BWAAH!" And the thugs were sent slamming against the ground; knocked out in a daze from that sort of attack._

"_And that's how you pick on bullies," Crystal chuckled._

_The other porcupine just stared at this, and then he jumped when Crystal looked at him. "Y-y-you're not gonna hurt me, are you?"_

"_Nope," Crystal said, and she offered his robotic arm back. "Don't worry; I took out all of the electric current in it, so you wouldn't get shocked."_

_The other porcupine just looked at it hesitantly… then he touched it, realizing the veracity of what Crystal said._

_"...ugh..." Groaning, one of the thugs weakly managed to look up at Crystal. "...how did you do that...?" he uttered._

"_Because I'm really an intergalactic being that can shape shift!" Crystal said, trying to spook them. "So run along now, before I EAT YOU ALIVE!"_

_And it did the trick... except, instead of fleeing in terror, the thug promptly fainted on the spot; though not before he let out a pretty girly shriek._

"…_are you…really?" the porcupine asked her worriedly._

_Crystal laughed. "Nah! What do you take me for? A crazy person?" She offered out her hand to shake. "I'm Crystal. What's your name?"_

"…_I'm, uh, Dax…" he answered, shaking Crystal's hand. Then he got a jolt, and he yanked his hand away. "OW!"_

_Crystal laughed. "Sorry; just a classic joke." Then she stopped when she looked at Dax. "…did you just...soil yourself?"_

Crystal laughed her head off, while Dax looked very embarrassed. "That's probably the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

"…well, it wasn't funny at the time," Dax admitted. "…but when I got to know Crystal, I eventually thought it was pretty funny."

Demi couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "...at the very least, it was a memorable meeting." he noted.

"It was!" Crystal said, jumping up to her feet. "And Dax and I had countless adventures!"

Ani laughed. "You kinda sound like Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Oh I WISH!" Crystal exclaimed. "I'd do ANYTHING if I could've met that guy in person!"

"...same here." Demi hummed, as he smiled a bit.

"Well, if you're feeling better Demi, wanna go take a walk around the island?" Dax asked.

Demi blinked a bit at that... before eventually nodding. "...yes." he said. "...if Ripper says that I can, then..."

"...kekekeke! It's fine by me!" Ripper laughed, as he folded his arms. "You're pretty much all better, by now, so I don't see how it could hurt, kekeke!"

"Cool!" Crystal said. "C'mon!"

Nodding, Demi stepped out of the bed, and approached the two of them. "...alright; let's go." he said with a slight smile.

Crystal and Dax took him and brought him outside.

Ani smiled a little bit. "See…? I knew he'd make some friends…"

"Kekekeke... seems like it." Ripper nodded.

"…now!" Ani chuckled and rubbed her hands together. "I'm gonna plot that prank on Raider!"

"...kekeke?" Humming, Ripper looked at Ani. "What prank are you talking about?"

"We found out some dirt on Raider! Since he was so obnoxious lately, I figured we could give him a taste of his own medicine!" Ani chuckled.

"I'm surprised you haven't done this sooner," Hunter and King walked into the pub.

"Sounds like something big you've got in store." King noted with a chuckle.

"Kekeke... who else is in on this, then?" Ripper inquired.

"So far as I know; Nage is!" Ani said. "Believe it or not, she's Espio's granddaughter!"

"Really now?" Hunter grew interested.

"Well, this is news to me, keke." Ripper chuckled.

"Espio's granddaughter, huh..." King hummed, as he rubbed his chin. "...wonder if Charmy knows anything about that..."

"Who knows?" Ani said with a shrug. "Maybe…"

"I could probably ask him later down the line." King chuckled. "But we shouldn't hold ya up. Go and find Nage, and enact your little prank, then."

Ani snickered to herself, and she took off out the door.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Just in case you guys are wondering, Crystal and Dax are scrapped characters I used to have...and instead of porcupines, they were actually hedgehogs...before I realized that about 75% of fan characters are hedgehogs. Thus I changed my ways...but hey, they aren't entirely dead :D<em>**


	24. Chapter 24

"Ha ha! It looks like I have the upperhand THIS time, Flamenco!"

"Think again, _mi amiga!_"

The two were still going at it…this time, they were actually hopping across the rooftops while they fought with their swords. Some soldiers just happened to glance and stay to watch them curiously.

One of those people happened to be Spiel, who simply looked up at that fight with a chuckle. "...now ain't that just precious?" he mused, before taking a bite out of some meat he was holding.

Standing next to him was Krieg; though he didn't look up at the fight, since he had absolutely no reason to do so, given his blindness. After being helped out by Spiel, Krieg had started staying closer to the pig than one would normally do, even in crowds.

"Look, we even have an audience now," Cyrene chuckled.

"I would concentrate on the battle, _chica,_" Flamenco said, kicking Cyrene back toward the edge.

She almost fell off, and the soldiers gasped while she wobbled. But then she regained her balance and charged back at Flamenco.

"...she's got talent." Spiel chuckled. "...able to keep up with Flamenco like that... makes you smile, doesn't it?"

"...hm." Krieg simply hummed.

"So why did you leave me on that day, hm?" Cyrene asked, parrying Flamenco's thrust.

"I did not leave you, for the last time!" Flamenco growled. "You were the one that vamoosed!"

"...hm?" Humming, Krieg glanced up briefly.

"...oh, did that catch your interest, Krieg?" Spiel chuckled; honestly not caring for the banter considering their pasts.

Krieg, on the other hand, seemed most intrigued by that sort of prospect.

"You left me behind in that trap!" Cyrene snarled, pushing her blade against his in a block.

"No, _chica_, it was the other way around! Flamenco growled at her.

"...hmm..." Humming, Krieg folded his arms, as he listened to what they had to say.

Cyrene managed to trip Flamenco and pin him toward the edge with his head sticking out. She pushed her sword against him and he tried to push back, threatening to fall over head first off the building. The soldiers stood around in anticipation.

"You were the one that left me behind…the next time I saw you, you were having such a merry time all by yourself!" Cyrene snarled again.

"But I was the one that took your fall while you left with all those treasures!" Flamenco growled back. "I was sent to the prison house for it!"

"I bet that's just your excuse for me not being able to find you!" Cyrene yelled. "Face it; you were avoiding me!"

"I was NOT avoiding you! You had disappeared and I knew not where to find you!" Flamenco still argued back despite his situation.

Krieg hummed once more, before he actually began approaching the scene of the battle.

"...hn? What's up, Krieg?" Spiel hummed, as he watched Krieg do this with a hint of intrigue.

Flamenco, getting desperate, actually kicked Cyrene over him, which knocked her off the building. Though she wasn't worried, for she landed on her feet. "Fool! Cat's always land on their feet!" she exclaimed.

Flamenco finally stood up, and since they were separated the fighting was at a pause for now.

"...excuse me." At this point, Krieg had made his way through the crowd, making it clear that he was the one adressing the two. "...why are you two fighting?"

Both Cyrene and Flamenco looked over at Krieg blankly.

"…excuse me?" Cyrene asked, while Flamenco jumped down from the rooftops of the buildings.

"...I wish to know why you're fighting to begin with." Krieg began. "Because, from what I've heard... this conflict is based around nothing but misunderstandings."

The two were silent, looking at each other.

…then they started bickering again loudly, trying to tell Krieg just exactly what happened, but the two voices were just interfering with each other, and making more of a loud commotion.

"...oh, for the love of..." Krieg uttered; he wasn't exactly good with situations like this.

"...HEY!"

At that point, a loud tremor would stop the commotion going on between Flamenco and Cyrene; as Spiel had stomped the ground with thundering force, whilst giving the two of them a look. "...one at a time." he said. "Otherwise, you're just makin' noise."

Cyrene pointed a finger at Flamenco. "He and I were going for the heist of the century! But it was a trap set by GUN to capture us! When the going got rough, Flamenco got going!"

"This is a lie!" Flamenco yelled. "This _chica_ was the one who abandoned me, carrying the treasures with her! She left me behind to be captured and put in prision!"

"That's not true! You just left me to go flirt with other women!"

Flamenco opened his mouth…and then paused.

Krieg would have blinked at that sudden pause. "...I take it from that pause... that there's some truth to what she says?" he supposed.

"…I did not lie about prison," Flamenco muttered. "…but…I believe I see her true motive in her argument…" he turned to Cyrene to say something…only to discover that she had vanished. "_Ay?_"

Krieg didn't seem to get it. "...what is it?" he uttered, before turning to look at where Cyrene once stood. "Is this true or not?"

"...she ain't there." Spiel shot in, as he made his way past the crowd; rubbing his neck. "...guess this all put her in a fluster. You oughta go and make amends with her, Flamenco."

Flamenco only looked at Spiel, but he made a break for it, intending to look for Cyrene.

"…guess the fun's over," one soldier said, as they started to scatter away.

"...should we follow them, Spiel?" Krieg hummed, as he folded his arms.

"...nah; leave them be." Spiel shrugged. "That kinda stuff doesn't interest me to begin with."

* * *

><p>Cyrene couldn't believe that had come out of her mouth. <em>Stupid, stupid, stupid!<em> She thought to herself, cursing herself. That was the stupidest thing that had ever come out of her mouth, and now that Flamenco knew…

…oh! She was so mad!

"...hey... are you okay...?"

"What do you want?" Cyrene suddenly snapped at the one who was standing there…then her eyes widened. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else…"

"...n-no, it's alright..." The one she had snapped at happened to be Lin; as it turned out, Cyrene storming off had led her all the way to the harbor, where the spider had been keeping watch after Flamenco ran off to duel her earlier.

Cyrene sighed, trying to take a breather.

"…wait, I remember you," Cyrene suddenly pointed out. "You're usually here guarding the docks with Flamenco, right?"

"...ayup!" Suddenly, her attitude shifted, and she approached Cyrene with a wide grin; shaking her hand with at least two of her own. "How're ya doing? Name's Marylin, but call me Lin for short!"

Cyrene was a bit shaken up not only by the double hand shake, but how quickly Lin changed her personality. Eventually, Cyrene took her hand away and rubbed it. "Yes…I'm Cyrene. Nice to meet you…"

"...nice to meet you, too." And Lin shifted from loud and cheery to a bit more demure, whilst she rubbed her neck. "...so, what's gotten you down?"

"…your feathered friend, that's what," grunted Cyrene, folding her arms and sitting down in one of the seats there, crossing her legs.

"...you mean Flammy, hm?" With an eager grin, Lin sat down in front of Cyrene. "Come on; tell me what's up with him! You and him have been playing a lot together, lately!"

"You call that playing?" Cyrene just huffed and looked away from Lin. "…I wouldn't be surprised if you were another one of his advances…"

Lin blinked at that. "...excuse me?" she inquired in a softer tone.

"…you know? Hasn't he made some stupid pickup lines on you or anything?" Cyrene looked at Lin now in question. "…_THOSE_ kinds of advances?"

Lin blinked, as she tapped her chin. "...well... I met him out in the wastelands... we met King's group later... and we ended up here..." she answered vaguely. "...so nope. He hasn't been coming onto me or anything." she said with a smile and a shrug. "What, do you think he should have?"

Cyrene blinked. "…no…it's just that I would think any woman he met he would flirt with…but I think you're one of the first I've met that he hasn't…"

"...oh, really?" Lin hummed, before grinning. "Do I get a prize for that?"

Cyrene chuckled. "…you're entertaining…"

"...you think so?" Lin blinked, as she rubbed her neck. "That's not really something I've been told before... usually, people just freak out when they see me..."

"I suppose I can see why…but I'm not frightened in the slightest, so don't worry," Cyrene said. "…tell me…what do you think of him? Answer me honestly…"

"...well..." Humming, Lin began counting off on her fingers. "He's a bit of a snoozeball, he's still kind of sore about that prank Ani pulled on him earlier, he likes to fight with swords, sometimes he goes off to get wasted on the pub (but only when he's not on guard duty), he speaks Spanish for some reason, he keeps hanging out with me despite the fact that three of my arms are pretty much crippled, and... he's just Flammy."

Cyrene…just burst laughing.

Lin blinked a bit. "...was it something I said?" she uttered, as she tilted her head.

"You're just so innocent…it's adorable really!" Cyrene chuckled.

"...what are you talking about innocent for?" Lin said with a chuckle. "I know a guy on the mainland who's the _epitome_ of innocence in a grown-up body. You're talking to the wrong gal about that sorta thing." she added whilst grinning.

Cyrene just smiled. She was interesting indeed.

"Cyrene."

Then her smile fell, and she rolled her eyes with a groan. "JUST when I was actually cheering up…" and she glared back. "What do you want, Flamenco?"

Flamenco walked toward the dock, eying her seriously. "We need to chat…"

"...oh... hi, Flammy..." Lin said with a brief wave to Flamenco. "...you want me to leave?"

Flamenco looked at Lin briefly…and nodded at her question.

Cyrene just looked away from him again with another huff.

"...alrighty." Lin said with a chipper nod, before she stood up and headed for the storage cabin. "Just yell my name really loudly if you want me to throw in my two cents on something. I'm gonna arrange everything in here neatly!" And she went off to do so; closing the door behind her.

While she began arranging things inside of the cabin, however, Lin couldn't help but notice that the door was slightly ajar. Out of sheer curiosity, she tip-toed towards the door... and began eavesdropping on the conversation.

Flamenco was up to Cyrene now and she stood up.

"…so you mean to tell me that the reason you were angry…was because you were jealous?"

"Now don't accuse me of being a jealous woman, Flamenco!" Cyrene snapped with a point of her finger.

Flamenco only smiled. He actually found this amusing. "Stubborn as ever…"

Hearing that, Lin hummed. It really seemed like they had some history together...

"Who're you calling stubborn?" Cyrene just didn't want to talk in general.

"Look, if you were jealous…why not try to come and claim me before?" Flamenco chuckled, outstretching his arms.

"You sleaz! You think I'd want you after leaving me like that?" Cyrene said, appearing disgusted…but looking unsure.

"Well, it's the reason you hold such a grudge against me," Flamenco remarked. "That's _no bueno_."

_...so, romance troubles, basically._ Lin thought, as she rubbed her chin. _...wait. I've seen this scenario before. The girl's tough exterior slowly peels away to a more shirking state..._

"…Okay, fine! You really want to know what bothered me for the last few years?" Cyrene yelled, glaring at Flamenco.

He just raised his eyebrow; wanting her to get on with it.

"We've trained under the same teacher, we've been on a bunch of treasure hunts, we've spent all the time in the world as partners…_but you never noticed me!_" She stamped her foot on the ground. "You just gave that eye to countless other women except me! So you wanna hear me say it Flamenco? YES! I was jealous!"

_There it is! The confession!_ Lin thought, as her eyes widened. _A bit earlier than expected, but still there... now, the big question; will they, or won't they?_

Flamenco slowly walked closer and closer to her.

"I mean, is there anything wrong with me or something? I could understand Lin, but _me?_" Cyrene just was getting angrier and angrier, and not noticing Flamenco at all. "I tried so hard to get you to notice me! I stayed on a diet and exercised like crazy to stay in shape! I even threw a few flirts your direction and you just—!"

Cyrene was interrupted because Flamenco suddenly grabbed her, startling her.

But what happened next was even more startling for her; she let out a surprised yelp when he pulled her into a kiss.

_...YES! He went for it!_ Lin seemed pretty happy about that; actually giving the toucan as many thumbs-ups as she could. _...but is she gonna react positively or negatively?_

Cyrene struggled with her arms…but just barely…she didn't see this coming and she wasn't sure how to react. In some ways, she still didn't want to admit to everything she had said…but in other ways….this was something she had wanted.

She blinked a few times…until eventually, she closed her eyes and melted into it with a shudder.

_Alright! Way to go, Flammy!_ Lin thought with a wide grin. _Now this is the part where you run off into the woods and she rides you like a stallion! ...wait, did I just think that? Huh._

Flamenco let go of Cyrene and pulled away, leaving her in a baffled, dazed state blushing wildly. She didn't know what to say or just how to react.

Then Flamenco just walked away from her.

_...wait, what?_ Lin thought. _Flammy, what are you doing? She's got the hots for you, so sweep her off her feet and let her have the time of her life! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU SILLY BIRD?_

Cyrene finally shook out of her shocked stated, and ran after Flamenco. "WAIT!"

Flamenco actually stopped, and turned around, allowing Cyrene to catch up to her.

"…why…uh…why did you walk away?" Cyrene asked shyly.

Flamenco smirked.

"To see if you would follow…"

Cyrene blinked.

Lin blinked as well.

"…You can't be stubborn, Cyrene," Flamenco said. "If you want me…you have to come get me."

Cyrene just wasn't sure what she was hearing from the toucan…but her answer came to her. She walked right up to Flamenco, grabbed him by his collar, and pulled him into another kiss.

_...alright! There we go; they got together!_ Lin thought, as her smile returned. _Now go! Go and do the deed to mark this huge success!_

The kissing got more intense, and Flamenco began to pull Cyrene away off to a more secluded place for privacy.

_YES! Way to go, Flammy!_ Lin thought with a wide smile. _Now you got someone you could have staying on the island when the training ends, and you... er... hm._

When she thought about that, her left hands grabbed her right side; the colder metal of her replacement arms sending a slight shiver through her; "...if Flammy's got Cyrene to hang with from now on... who do I hang out with?" she said to herself.

Silence was her answer…

"...gnh..." Frowning, Lin rubbed her head. "...I never thought of this before... there's only one thing I can do in this kind of situation..." Then, she snapped her fingers and nodded. "...get wasted and whine about it!" With a nod, she walked out of the cabin, and headed for the pub.

* * *

><p>Christmastime came again this year. There was no need to explain how excited everyone on the island was about Christmas.<p>

Jill brought Joy out to play in the snow. Last year, she didn't really get the chance to, so Jill had promised that this year they could make a snowman. Joy had a blast doing that, giggling while she put on the pieces on the snowman's face.

"...hey, Jill, Joy!" At that point, Sonia approached the two of them in the snow, waving and laughing. "Need any help with that snowman?" she inquired with a smile.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Joy, waving her arms. Jill would've giggled if she could.

"Alright; I've been itching to do something with the snow for a while, now!" With a laugh, Sonia approached the snowman, and looked at it. "...it looks pretty good, but... what's missing?"

Joy tilted her head at it. "…dunno!"

"Well, it's got the physique..." Sonia began, as she rubbed her chin. "...it's got arms and a face... hmm..." Then, she snapped her fingers. "What about a hat? And a scarf, and maybe a broom and a pipe?"

Joy got excited. "Yeah! Yeah!"

"We should go and look for those things!" Sonia nodded. "I don't know anyone who has a fitting hat for the snowman, but I think I got an extra scarf back in my cabin. And maybe we can find a broom and pipe over at the pub?"

Jill nodded, and she, Sonia and Joy left the snowman to start their search on those things.

Getting the scarf was the easy part; as they had found one at Sonia's cabin fairly quickly. The other items were tougher to find, but they started looking for them at the pub.

"...so, Ani, do you know if we could borrow a broom, a pipe and a hat?" Sonia asked the husky-wolf after a bit of small-talk between them.

"Don't know about a hat, but sure!" Ani said, disappearing in the back to see if she could look for one.

Jill looked over at Joy who was contently humming a tune to herself. She smiled at her daughter, and then looked over at Sonia.

"...you know, this is a lot of fun." Sonia chuckled; "Haven't gotten to do a lot of outdoors activities during winter."

Jill nodded with a smile. _It's so nice to see Joy having such a good time_, Jill wrote.

"I'll say." Sonia said with a smile of her own. "And she really seems to enjoy being out in the snow, too."

_Yeah, I promised her this year I would take her to play in the snow…_ Jill wrote back..

In the meantime, Joy started to get bored, and since her mother was busy conversing with Sonia, she took one look outside. She never really got to see the whole island, and she had lived here as far as she could remember.

Curiously, she stepped outside.

At the moment, neither Jill or Sonia noticed Joy wandering outside, so they carried out their conversation.

Joy walked for a little bit, looking around. She wondered if Jill would ever really take her to see the entire island…and while the toddler kept wondering, she wandered into the forest.

At that point... she heard what sounded like metal clashing.

Joy blinked, and walked toward where she heard that sound.

The further she followed the sound, the louder it got; as if someone was hammering something against something else. When she got closer, she even heard what sounded like fire.

Joy got worried. Fire meant a bad thing, "Oh no!" and she ran toward it to check it out.

When she reached the scene, though, it wasn't the kind of fire she had expected.

Out in the middle of a clearing in the woods, someone had set up a smithy; complete with an anvil, a melting pot, and buckets of water in order to cool down what was being forged there. The snow around the clearing was fully gone; letting Joy see the wet grass that would've been hidden until spring.

And the one standing by the smithy was Krieg, who was holding an intricate-looking sword in his hands; weighing it.

Joy blinked…and stepped a bit closer. She knew Krieg was blind, so she had to try and be quiet so he would notice her.

After weighing the sword a little, Krieg placed it down by the grass, before he grabbed a different sword; this one looking a bit plainer. "...he wanted something big... this should work out..." he murmured to himself, before he went over to a fire to place the sword in; so he could heat it up in order to make it more malleable.

Joy tilted her head and watched him silently, wondering what he was doing.

When he had heated the sword up enough, Krieg approached the anvil, gently placed the sword down on top of it, took hold of a nearby hammer... and slammed the tool down on the sword with wicked force; causing sparks to fly off the red-hot sword.

Joy jumped when those sparks flew, and put her hand over her mouth to keep from uttering any sounds.

Again and again, Krieg would hammer down on the sword with terrifying force; with each clang of the two metals clashing sounding like a thunderclap.

Joy stepped away a bit and covered her ears, trying to keep out that thunderclap noise.

For each strike, the sword gave out a brighter glow, as if it was turning into some manner of beast the more Krieg hammered it. Sparks were sizzling off in every which direction, and the overall light coming from the sword seemed to paint Krieg in an eerie manner.

It was enough to scare Joy more and more with each thunderclap, and she shivered in the cold while she stepped away farther.

Finally, Krieg stopped hammering the sword, as he held it up to inspect it. The blade now looked a lot more intricate in design.

Joy blinked again and took her hands off her ears, staring at it.

At that point, Krieg suddenly swung the sword in an arc behind him...

...and several trees behind him suddenly fell to the ground below him, before bursting into flames; which were thankfully put out by the snow directly underneath them.

Joy let out a scared yelp this time, "AGH!"

Then she covered her mouth again nervously, hoping that Krieg didn't hear that.

However, he seemed to do so, as he looked around him. "...hm?"

Joy gasped and spun around to run away out of fear.

Krieg didn't seem to follow her, as he was still puzzled about that outcry.

Joy ran and ran, and even got a little emotional. She had no idea Krieg could be so strong, to take down all of those trees by himself. She wasn't sure what to think, except that she was scared out of her mind from that…

…it reminded her of something she saw when she was very, very little…

"...Joy?" At that point, someone stopped not too far from her, and looked at her in concern. "...what are you doing here, all on your own?"

Joy seemed ready to cry. "I-I saw s-something s-s-scawy!" she sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"...you're scared, huh..." At that point, the figure walked over to her, and held a hand out. "...where's your mom, hm? I'll take you to her; so you don't need to be scared."

Joy looked up…and slowly stopped from crying. It was Demi who was talking to her…

"...don't worry; there's nothing to be scared of here." he said reassuringly. "So, do you want to go back to Jill?"

Joy couldn't help but just stare at him blankly.

Demi blinked. "...what's wrong? Am I scaring you?" he inquired.

Joy blinked…eventually, she shook her head, and started sucking on her thumb.

"...hm..." Humming, Demi glanced around him. "...still... where is Jill, anyway? It's not exactly normal to see you two separated..."

"…pub…" Joy replied.

Hearing that, Demi looked back at Joy. "...they're there, huh?" he mused, before nodding. "Alright; let's get you back there." he said, before extending his hand out to Joy again, for her to take hold of.

Joy looked at his hand for a long time…

…eventually, she took it, and walked with him while she continued to suck her thumb.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the pub, Ani came out. "Couldn't find a hat, but here's a broom and a pipe!" she laughed, setting those things over the counter.<p>

"Alright!" Sonia cheered, as she picked up those items. "Much obliged, Ani! This is gonna look _great_ for the snowman!"

Jill nodded as well, and she glanced over at Joy to see the excited look on her face.

Then Jill's smile dropped, seeing that Joy was no longer there.

Blinking, Sonia glanced behind her as well, and grew startled when Joy wasn't anywhere in sight. "...what the...?"

"…Um…Jill, where's Joy?" Ani asked.

Jill set down the broom and pipe and started looking around under the tables and behind the counter. The more she searched and didn't find her, the more worried she got.

"...sheesh, where is she?" Sonia was looking around as well, and she was starting to grow just as worried as Jill.

Jill couldn't find her at all in the pub, and she was even more worried. Then she looked over at the entrance door to see that it was slightly ajar. Her eyes widened. _…don't tell me she wandered off by herself!_ She thought in rising panic.

It was as if Sonia though the exact same thing. "...oh, don't tell me...!" Quickly, she began heading for the door. "Come on; we should look for her!"

Jill rushed to the door along with Sonia…but the minute she opened it she was greeted by two people.

"Mama!" Joy latched onto Jill with a big hug, and Jill grew relieved, hugging her back. Then she looked to see Demi standing there.

Demi gave Jill a nod. "...I found Joy wandering on her own in the woods. Something had given her a scare."

"...a scare?" Sonia blinked.

"…Krieg…"

Jill looked down at Joy in surprise, and saw her clutch to her mother.

Both Sonia and Demi blinked at hearing that as well. "...Krieg?" Sonia uttered.

Joy nodded, and buried her face in her mother's jeans. "…he's…scawy..."

Sonia blinked at hearing that, as she rubbed her neck. "...I... guess I could see why she'd be scared; he _is_ one of the stronger new guys..." Then, she folded her arms. "...but really, he's so reserved that I don't personally see how he could be frightening..."

"...hm." Demi hummed, as he simply shrugged.

Ani walked up to them, kneeling down to Joy. "Hey Joy, don't worry about Krieg. I don't think he'll hurt anyone…" when Joy didn't respond, Ani smiled. "Hey, you still wanna help Mommy and Sonia make that snowman?"

"...yeah; we've got the broom and pipe ready!" Sonia said with a nod. "Now we just need to find a hat, and we're set."

"...a hat, hm?" Demi hummed, as he rubbed his chin a little.

Joy looked up, and Jill smiled down at her, petting her head to assure her that it was alright. Then Joy smiled too. "Yeah…"

Sonia smiled as well. "Alright; let's go and finish that snowman!"

"...would you mind if I tagged along?" Demi suggested. "Playing in the snow could be a good way to just loosen up." he added with a chuckle.

Joy smiled up at Demi. "Sure!"

* * *

><p>"...jusht makesh me sho... gosh-darn frushtrated!" And another glass was put down on the counter, as this night's unhappy customer was on her 12th shot already.<p>

"…Um…" Ani had watched her drink all those shots too. "…Lin, I uh…can't help but notice something's bothering you…"

"Ya think?" Lin sputtered, as she slammed her hands on the counter. "Gimme another, Ani, if ya pleashe!"

"…not until you tell me what's bothering you," Ani said.

"...mngh..." Letting out a sigh, Lin laid her head down on the counter. "...there'sh shomethin'... ever shince they shtarted hangin' out, I've jusht been feelin' down in the dumpsh, but... gah, what wash it? I shouldn'tve drunk sho much..." And she held her head a little.

"…Lin, hey," Ani leaned down on the counter to look at Lin. "Who're you talking about?"

"...fffff..." With a dry sigh, Lin looked up at the ceiling. "...ffffffff..." Then, she knocked her head on the counter again. "...Flammy'sh with Cyrene now."

Ani blinked.

"…but…I thought those two were fighting…"

"...oh; that wash jusht thish gigantic mishundershtandin' becaushe Cyrene wash sho jealoush becaushe Flammy'sh a real hit with the ladiesh..." Lin murmured. "...but they got that shorted out... and... got together..." And she hiccuped.

"…aaaaah," Now Ani understood what was going on. "…well, uh, I'm sure Flamenco didn't forget about you, Lin…"

"But _thaaaaaat'sshh_ not what'sh got me down!" Lin suddenly whined. "I mean, I shee him every frickin' day at work, sho that'sh not a problem... the problem ish... _ish_..." Then, her lips quivered...

...and she began bawling loudly. "_I FEEL SHO LONELYYYYYYYY!_"

Ani jumped at how emotional she suddenly got. "Uh, Lin! Hey! You're not saying…uh, you're not saying that you…"

"…have feelings for him…do you?"

She merely asked to clarify because she was still confused.

Lin sniffled. "I dunno; I never thought about that." she murmured whilst wiping her eyes. "We've jusht been buddiesh ever shince we met, he hashn't been flirting with me, and I haven't been shwooning and fawning over him..." Then, her eyes shot wide open. "Doesh all that mean that I've had feelingsh for him? I didn't know! Ani, another drink; I jusht blew my own mind!"

Ani just wasn't sure what to say, really. Reluctantly, she poured Lin another drink; one with very little alcohol in it.

When she did that, Lin downed it very quickly. "Holy crap... but I don't think that makesh shenshe; I mean, if I had the hotsh for Flammy, then I wouldn't have watched the two of them gettin' together and be happy for 'em!" she said, as she rubbed her head. "Sho... why am I feelin' lonely?"

"…well, I'm not sure," Ani said nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "…maybe you don't have feelings for him…but maybe you're so used to being around him?"

"...that... that could be it..." Lin noted. "...but... again, we shee each other at work, sho..." Groaning, Lin rubbed her head fervently. "Argh, thinkin'sh hurtin' right now!" she whined, before she groaned. "But I gotsha thinksh; or elshe I can't figure out what'sh wrong!"

"…oh boy…I'm not the best at advice…" Ani muttered under her breath so that Lin didn't hear her.

"...maaaan... Flammy'sh a lucky guy..." Lin eventually droned. "...if he'sh got thish luck with the ladiesh, I mean... I mean, it'sh not like _I'm _the kinda girl to go around and flirt with loadsh of guysh, and trusht me, I don't _want_ to be that kinda girl... but at the shame time, what guy would wanna go out with me, anyhow?"

"Oh Lin, don't say that!" Ani suddenly said. "I'm sure there's a lot of guys out there that would consider themselves lucky to be with ya!"

"But _Aaaaaaaniiiiii!_" Lin proceeded to whine again. "I hash a _flail_ for a right arm! _A flail!_" To make her counter-argument more valid, she lifted her flail-arm up a bit. "_And_ an armstump and a metal arm! How awkward would any date with me be like thish, huh?"

"…uh…you know, there are still guys that probably wouldn't mind…" Ani muttered.

"Like _whooooo?_" Lin whined again.

"I don't know…maybe a nice fella out there who…uh, likes all the stuff you have, or likes you and doesn't mind that stuff," Ani replied.

"...b-but..." Again, Lin whimpered, as she gently waved the triple-chained flail arm about a bit. "...f-f-flail _aaaaaarm..._"

"Just…just don't count yourself out yet, Lin…" Ani sighed, since she not only did she not know what to say, but she was talking to a drunk.

Still, Lin kept whimpering, before she took a deep breath. "...m'kay! 'nother drink, pleashe!"

Ani sighed, and poured her that next drink; with even _less_ alcohol. "…maybe you just need to talk to Flamenco when you get a chance. Maybe he might be able to figure out what's up…"

"...but... b-b-but..." Lin stammered, as she quickly downed that drink as well. "...what if he thinksh I'm _jealoush _of Cyrene? What if he doeshn't wanna be muh friend anymore?" She seemed to panic a bit at that thought.

"I don't think Flamenco misunderstands, Lin; he's a pretty smart guy," Ani said. "I don't think he'll stop being your friend."

"...yuh think sho?" Lin kept whimpering.

"Yeah," Ani was starting to see some hope and she smiled a little bit. "And being friends, you guys should be able to talk about something like this…"

"...r-right..." Lin nodded a bit. "...buh-but howsh do I shtart ashkin' 'bout that?"

"Well, tell him the truth; how you've been lonely since he's been with Cyrene, and that you don't know what's wrong…" Ani suggested. "Ask him for advice as a friend…"

"...ah..." Lin blinked, as she slowly nodded a bit. "...I... _thinksh..._ I can do that..."

"Okay then," Ani said. "…that's going to be your last drink by the way; you drink anymore and your hangover's gonna be unbearable. Also, I think you should stay here for the night…"

"Aaaaaaaaww..." Lin whined, before she sighed. "...fine..."

* * *

><p>Being Christmastime again, Oblivion was just biding her time before she would go meet with Charon again. As much as she wanted to, she hadn't really been able to see Charon every day…<p>

…business called, whether or not it was Diablo's and Kiri's disturbing business, or helping Spiel with something…

…she hated having to use her powers sometimes…she just kept seeing things she would rather not see. Frankly, she wondered why she wasn't as insane as Diablo at this point. Maybe she just had a really strong mind for someone as timid as her…

…anyhow, on this night, she walked through the forest by herself, treading across the snow carefully. She has been known to trip every now and then…

Though as she walked, she happened to spot someone else wandering through the forest; rubbing his arms in order to generate some warmth, even if he was fully cloaked.

Oblivion gasped, just noticing them, and she wanted to be cautious since every time she ran into someone, it was trouble. Thankfully, she was able to get out of it on her own…

…but being kind as she was, and noticing them shivering, she cautiously walked toward them. "…are you cold?"

The person stopped, without facing Oblivion. "...a little." he noted.

"…would you like to borrow my coat?" Oblivion offered.

"...wouldn't that make _you_ cold?" the person reasoned.

"…well, yes, probably," Oblivion said. "…but even then, I would offer it to someone if they needed it."

The person blinked a bit.

"...alright, then..." he nodded, as he turned to look at Oblivion; as it turned out, it was Demi, who wasn't wearing any sort of mask at the moment.

Oblivion took off her coat, and offered it to Demi, smiling at him.

With a slightly uneasy smile, Demi gave her a nod, and took the coat.

Oblivion started shivering now, and she was the one to try and warm herself up by rubbing her arms.

Seeing that, Demi lost his smile. "...now you're gonna be cold." he noted.

"…I suppose so…" Oblivion remarked. "…but I'll live…"

"...hm." Demi hummed, before he stretched his arm out. "...my name's Demi." he introduced himself. "What's your name?"

Oblivion looked at Demi for a long time. Either he was really good at deception…or he was very innocent. Either way, Oblivion liked him, and with a smile, took his hand to shake. "My name is Oblivion."

"...Oblivion..." Demi hummed, as he nodded a few times. "...I haven't seen you with the other newcomers. Do you live here?" he inquired.

Oblivion nodded. "Yes, I live here…I was part of last year's group."

"Oh, I see..." Demi hummed, as he looked around him. "...you like it here, then?"

"…as long as I don't run into the wrong people, I do alright," Oblivion said with a small smile.

"...wrong people..." Demi hummed. "...are there a lot of those around here...?"

"…quite a few, yes," Oblivion answered. "…but this is a big island and it tends to be easy to avoid them."

"...ah... I see." Demi hummed, as he rubbed his neck. "...but... what if you can't avoid them?"

"…I defend myself…" Oblivion looked down at her hands. "…with my particular abilities, I'm able to walk away unharmed."

Demi blinked, as he looked down at her hands as well. "...abilities...?"

"…well…I don't like to talk about them," she said, rubbing her arms again. "…but they've kept me safe for a long time…"

"...I see..." Demi hummed, as he glanced to the side.

"…what about you?" Oblivion grew curious and looked at him. "What brought you to Safe Haven?"

Demi hummed. "...I guess... to prove that not everyone in my family was... well, _bad_, I suppose is a fitting word..."

Oblivion grew even more curious. "…your family is bad?"

"...yeah." Demi nodded. "They dabble into the occult, and have been known to do... well, less than legal things throughout the years..." he murmured, before closing his eyes. "...some moreso than others..."

"…I see…" Oblivion muttered.

"...seems like we both have some things we'd rather not tell anyone else." Demi murmured.

"…hm," Oblivion smiled a bit more.

Demi couldn't help but smile a bit as well.

"...um... if you're not too busy..." he eventually hummed, as he glanced to the side. "...maybe we could just... talk a while?"

Oblivion nodded. "…sure…"

Demi seemed to brighten up a bit at that. "...okay, so..." he began. "...what did you do, before coming to Safe Haven?"

"I traveled around…a lot…" Oblivion said.

"...ah," Demi hummed with a nod. "...I can relate; I used to travel quite a bit as well..."

"…is that so?" Oblivion asked. "…see many things?"

"...a bit." Demi nodded. "I was... maybe thinking of traveling overseas someday. Mostly, though, I've kept away from mountains; they're a bit too steep for my liking..."

"…mountains aren't so bad once you get to the top…" Oblivion said. "They have a marvelous view…"

"...I wouldn't disagree on that." Demi noted. "But... I haven't found a mountain where there's just a path to the top; there's always climbing involved, and..." Then, he smiled sheepishly. "...well... I can't exactly say that I'm afraid of falling, but there's something about dropping down that doesn't sound too welcoming."

"…I can understand that," Oblivion said.

"...so... what have you seen, on your travels?" Demi inquired.

"…besides magnificent views," Oblivion closed her eyes. "…not pleasant things…"

Demi blinked at that. "...is that so?" he hummed.

"…yes…" Oblivion said.

"...what... sorts of unpleasant things?" he inquired further.

"…well…it has to do with my powers…" Oblivion murmured. "…I've met a lot of bad people…I suppose I just have bad luck…"

"...well... you must have met some good people as well, right?" Demi supposed.

When Oblivion heard him say that, Charon came to her mind, and she smiled. "Yes, I have…"

Demi smiled at hearing that. "...that's a good thing." he noted. "As for me... well, I haven't exactly gone out of my way to meet others before..."

"…I suppose I'm the exception then, huh?" Oblivion asked.

"Eheh..." Demi chuckled sheepishly. "...well... I've just recently started to open up to others... back in the day, I'd try to avoid getting spotted..."

Oblivion looked at the ground. "…well, I can empathize…I don't really open up to others either…I still have a hard time doing that…"

"...oh... is that right?" Demi hummed. "...did... something happen, or is that just how it is?" After asking that, he quickly cleared his throat. "Er, you don't need to answer that, if that's a touchy subject..."

"…it's alright; you were just curious," Oblivion said. "…I met someone; a good friend who had been wronged by many…he was hurt, and he was afraid of himself. He was afraid of the things he had done in the past…"

"...is... that so...?" Demi hummed curiously.

"…everyone called him a monster…they were all afraid of him…" Oblivion murmured. "…I found him on his dying breath and nursed him back to health…ever since, I had dedicated my life to protecting him…"

Oblivion suddenly realized what she was saying…and gasped.

Demi blinked. "...what's wrong?"

"…I…have to be careful what I say to whom…" Oblivion murmured. "…like I said…I have a hard time opening up to others…"

"...but... you've opened up to me... haven't you?" Demi hummed.

Oblivion looked at Demi a bit nervously.

"...oh... I think I get it..." Demi eventually nodded, as he glanced aside. "You don't want anyone to find your friend... right?"

Oblivion looked at him longer…and slowly nodded, looking down at the ground again. "…no one knows, but…he's hidden on this island…"

"...is that right..." Demi hummed. "...and if anyone finds out where he is...?"

"…anytime someone found out about him, they tried to hurt him…or worse…" Oblivion murmured.

"...that's... that's just wrong..." Demi uttered, as he rubbed his arm a bit. "...no one should have to be looked down on like that... even if they look like a monster..."

"…there are a lot of prejudice people in this world, Demi…" Oblivion murmured sadly.

"...I know..." Demi murmured. "...I've had my share of people like that on my back, too..."

"…on your back?" Oblivion muttered wonderingly.

"...well... both figuratively and literally..." Demi murmured, as he rubbed his neck. "...here; let me show you."

At that point, he took off the coat and handed it back to Oblivion, before he removed his cloak so she could see what he was hiding.

Oblivion looked upon his large wings silently. In some ways, she was surprised that his wings were bigger than the average mobian's…but she wasn't afraid of their size. In fact, she even reached out to touch them.

Demi blinked a bit at that; though he didn't move away or anything, which allowed Oblivion to touch them.

"…yes, they're large…but they don't make you scary," she said. "Not to me..."

"...funny; everyone on the island who has seen them seem to share your view on them." Demi mused, as he chuckled a bit.

"…are you afraid of them as well…?" Oblivion asked.

"...not as much as I used to... but the fear persists." Demi nodded.

"…why are you afraid of them?" Oblivion asked.

"...in my family, they've been a bad omen; to the point where a lot of people have mistaken me for a monster." Demi explained, as he looked down at the ground. "...but recently... I've found that there _is_ a monster in me..."

"…is there?" Oblivion walked around to look at him.

"...yes." Demi nodded. "I found about it the hard way... by just losing control, and letting it take over me..." Folding his arms, he glanced to the side. "...I've been... trying to talk to it, and... come to an agreement with it... but no luck so far..."

"…I see…" Oblivion remarked.

"...from what I recall..." Demi hummed. "...it said that in order for me to be able to control it... I needed to both find a name for it... and find a good reason to borrow his power."

"…maybe…I could help," Oblivion said.

Demi blinked, before he looked at Oblivion. "...help?"

"…yes," Oblivion said, sitting down next to him.

"...how?" he inquired, as he tilted his head.

"…well, I suppose I'm not sure how…but I want to help," Oblivion said.

"...is that right?" Demi hummed, as he looked at Oblivion with a surprised look.

Oblivion nodded.

Eventually, Demi broke out a small smile. "...that's... so kind." he noted.

Oblivion smiled too. "…don't mention it…"

"...well, I have to, even if it's just a bit." Demi chuckled.

"…now, I'm not like Sage where I can enter the void of your mind…" Oblivion said, taking Demi's hand. "…but…I can glance at anyone's memories…"

Demi blinked at that. "...memories..." he uttered. "...so... that's your ability?"

Oblivion nodded, and then looked at the ground. "…I…I can erase memories…too…"

Demi's eyes widened slightly at that. "...erase... memories?" After saying that, something dawned on him...

"...that's how you protected yourself when you were threatened... right?"

Oblivion nodded and closed her eyes. "…but I had to see the memories I erased…and…a good many of them weren't pleasant…"

"...I see..." Demi hummed, as he rubbed his neck. "...what about returning memories? Could you do that?"

"…I…haven't figured out how…yet…"

"...so you may or may not have that ability..." Demi hummed, as he nodded a little. "...well... I suppose you'll find out in time."

Then she looked up at Demi. "…I can look into your memories of what happened the first time…maybe I could get a feel of what it was like for you…what this monster inside you is like," she said.

"...I guess..." Demi uttered, as he looked at Oblivion in concern. "...but... are you sure that you'll be okay?"

"…I have to warn you in advance that I will experience what you did, so if you were afraid, then so will I," Oblivion said. "But I assure you that no harm will come to me."

"...alright..." Nodding a little, Demi closed his eyes. "...whenever you're ready."

Oblivion closed her eyes as well, and while one hand was holding his, the other reached for his forehead, touching it with her fingers. Then a small white glow appeared at her touch.

…for a long time, there was silence.

…then Oblivion let out a yelp, and cringed at what she saw.

"...you saw it, right?" Demi assumed, as he kept his eyes closed.

"…I-I'm experiencing…your e-emotions!" she uttered. "…you felt afraid…and really angry…and guilty and…and…that can't be Ani, can it? Oh my!"

Demi sighed a bit. "...yeah... what happened wasn't pleasant, that's for sure..."

Oblivion winced even more…clutching her chest with the hand that was holding his, almost in pain, and grunting a bit.

Hearing that, Demi looked at Oblivion with a concerned look. "Oblivion... you're-"

Oblivion suddenly interrupted him with a loud scream of pain and agony, clutching very tightly.

Demi reeled back upon hearing that. "Oblivion?" he sputtered.

Him reeling back separated her touch from his mind, and severed the connection. Oblivion's eyes popped open and she tried to catch her breath, trying to calm down.

Still stunned from that, Demi just looked at Oblivion. "...you..." he began, but he couldn't figure out what he could possibly say after that.

"…remember…I…I was just experiencing the same…thing…" she tried catching her breath, "…as you…and…"

"...but... it seemed like you were in so much pain..." Demi uttered.

"…because…that's…what you felt…when he took over you…" she uttered. "…you felt…so much pain…so much…before you…blacked out…"

Then she looked up at him. "…but yet…you remember all of the experience…"

"...to be honest... I'm not sure how that works, still." Demi murmured. "But... I suppose it's better than having committed those deeds... and then having no recollection of it."

"…then he…got a taste of…blood…" she murmured. She raised her had to look at it, and saw it shaking drastically. It also didn't help that she was cold…but that had been from what she experienced.

"...was... that the worst of it?" Demi uttered.

"…I can't tell, but…that thirst was so strong…" Oblivion murmured. "…Demi…I think you should name him…Blood."

Demi blinked, as he looked down at the ground. "...Blood... huh." he hummed.

"…well, he runs in your family bloodline, and he thirsts for it…" Oblivion murmured. "…so…that's part of it…"

"...well... it fits, I suppose..." Demi nodded, before he looked at Oblivion. "...but what about you? Surely that must've been an awful experience for you..."

Oblivion tried to smile a little. "…don't worry about me…it may have been bad…but I've seen many bad things…"

"...still... you haven't seen a lot of good things with your ability, have you?" Demi supposed.

Oblivion shook her head…and then she started shivering in the cold again.

"...here; you should put on the coat, now..." Demi said, as he handed the coat to her.

Oblivion took it and put it on, breathing on her hands to try and warm them.

Demi just looked at her; as if he was wondering if she'd be alright or not.

"…I'm okay, Demi…don't worry," she said in assurance, standing up.

Demi stood up as well. "...so, then..." he began; still unsure on how to proceed.

"…as for coming to terms with it," Oblivion said. "…that's something that will have to take a lot of time…but I'm sure you understand that…"

"...yeah..." Demi nodded. "...well... thanks for helping out, Oblivion." he added with a smile, before taking her hand to shake it. "I sincerely appreciate it..."

"…you're welcome, Demi," Oblivion said with a smile, shaking on it.

After a while, Demi let go of Oblivion's hand. "...maybe we could meet up and... talk a bit more later on?"

Oblivion nodded. "…sure…"

With a brief nod, Demi began walking off. "...see you around, then... Oblivion."

"…right…" Oblivion turned to leave as well. "…Merry Christmas, Demi…"

"...right... Merry Christmas." Demi said in return.

When the two were gone from each other's sight, Oblivion actually halted a moment and looked back. _…I…never really open up like that for anyone,_ she thought. _...and when I do…they…always end up hurting me somehow…_ but she arched her brows. _…but…he's so much like Charon…I suppose that's why I talked to him…_

As he walked, Demi rubbed his arm a bit. _...it's... curious._ he thought. _For her to be one of the first I really open up to... she has her own ability that might seem threatening to some... and yet, neither of us were really afraid of the other. Very curious indeed..._

* * *

><p>"...ugh..." Rubbing her head as she was walking towards the harbor, Lin couldn't help but groan. For some reason, she felt like drinking that much <em>might<em> not have been a good idea when it was her shift, after all.

Although to her surprise, she saw Flamenco standing there at the harbor, looking out at the sea, even if it wasn't his shift.

Lin blinked at that. "...hey, Flammy?" she called out. "Why are you at post?"

"Hm?" Flamenco looked. "Oh, I heard you hung out at the pub last night and figured I would take your shift in case you had gotten drunk last night."

…and for some reason, his English was really good today…

Lin blinked a bit at that... before she cleared her throat. "...so... how are you today?"

"_Bueno_…" Flamenco replied, looking back out at sea. Okay, so he wasn't entirely English.

Rubbing her neck, Lin slowly approached Flamenco. "...how's Cyrene?"

"She's _bueno_ as well; just going back to her training," Flamenco said, still looking out at the ocean.

"Ah." Lin nodded, before she looked at the sea as well. "...Flammy... can I ask you something? As a friend?"

Flamenco looked back at Lin then. "_Que pasa?_"

"...um..." Lin uttered, as she tapped her fingers against each other. "...well... uh... how do I put this..."

Flamenco blinked in wondering…

"...it's, um... about Cyrene... sort of." Lin stammered. "And... well, since you began hanging out with her, um... I dunno... uh... I guess... I've just felt... um..."

Flamenco kept looking at her patiently. "…go on."

"...ah..." Rubbing her neck, Lin glanced away. "...uh... what did I feel, again..." she stammered, as she snapped her fingers. "...uh... I-I felt... l-lon..." Finally, she just gulped and said it. "...lonely."

"…you did?" Flamenco asked, genuinely surprised.

"...y-yeah." Lin nodded, as she looked away from Flamenco.

"…I'm…sorry Lin, I didn't know you felt left out," Flamenco murmured.

Lin blinked, as she looked at Flamenco. "...huh?"

"…I suppose I've been spending too much time with Cyrene," he murmured again, looking out at the ocean once more.

Lin kept looking at Flamenco. "...uh..." she uttered; a bit unsure of what to say.

Flamenco looked at Lin, and blinked. "…_que_?"

"...oh! Uh... I... I just don't know what to say." Lin uttered, as she glanced aside. "...I mean... it's not that I'm, you know... um... jealous of Cyrene or anything..." Then, she rubbed her neck. "...truth be told... we see each other at work... so I dunno why I feel lonely..."

"…I don't know either…I didn't think about it much," Flamenco said.

"...guess I thought about it a lot more." Lin murmured, as she chuckled sheepishly.

Flamenco looked at Lin seriously. "…Lin, I need to know. Do you have feelings for me?"

Lin was taken aback by that serious look, as she scratched her head. "...I... I don't know..." she replied, as she looked down. "...I mean... I never really paid any sort of attention to that kinda thing, but... maybe I do, but I just don't know... argh, this is confusing!" Sighing in frustration, she grabbed her head.

"…alright, I just wanted to know where you stood on that," Flamenco said. "…but I have another question; have you ever really wondered why I flirt with so many women…but I haven't said such things to you?"

Lin blinked once again. "...no?" she uttered, as she tilted her head.

"…I figured you'd never wondered; you never acted like you did," Flamenco said, leaning against the wall of the shack on the harbor.

"...then..." Lin uttered, as she looked at Flamenco with a tilted head.

"I flirt with a lot of women Lin; that's just me as a man," he started. "But I've left them all behind, angry and vengeful. Cyrene was living proof of that…_Si_, I suppose she was right about that...I don't have very many friends to be honest; especially any that are women."

Then he looked at Lin. "When I got to know you, at first, I decided that you weren't my type, so I didn't flirt with you. That was no offense at all in any way, shape, or form. I just have preferences is all… then I got to know you and we stuck together like a duo. I got used to the two of us just being friends…but in a way, it was very…how should I say it?" Flamenco tried to think of the word. "…comforting, I suppose."

Lin just looked at Flamenco with wide eyes. "...Flammy..."

"…I don't flirt with you or try to make any conflict between us because I actually value our friendship, Lin," he said. "You're one of the only good friends I really have. I don't want that to change."

"…so don't feel lonely…even when I run off for a while with other women, I'll still come back," and he even smiled. "I won't leave you behind."

Lin just stood there with a surprised expression... and she began sobbing lightly. "...F...Fla..." she uttered; she wasn't sobbing because she was saddened... but rather, she seemed overjoyed.

"...FLAMENCO!"

And she instantly ran up to Flamenco and gave him an incredibly tight hug; crying profusely as she did so. "YU-YUH-YOU'RE THE BEST FRIEND EVEEEEEEEER!" she yelled whilst crying

Flamenco gagged a bit at the tight hug, but he just chuckled a little, and pat her back. Lin just kept crying, as she held onto Flamenco.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Lin is just so adorable sometimes XD<em>**


	25. Chapter 25

_A few months later..._

* * *

><p>With winter having passed, the last few months of the training program began passing by. Some of the soldiers seemed anxious for things to come to a close, yet others felt like they didn't want to leave the island just yet.<p>

Ani and Nage were snickering to themselves, hiding in the bushes in the forest.

"…oh man, I can't wait till Jill lures Raider into the woods," Ani chuckled. "I know she doesn't like him…but I'm glad she decided to be part of this!"

"Me too." Nage nodded. "Oh, this is gonna be glorious! We should've found a way to tape this, too!"

"Actually, Sonia's gonna get a video camera!" Ani said. "She just has to get here before Jill brings Raider over!"

"Oh, that's awesome!" Nage laughed. "Man, I can't wait to see the look on his face... or at least what we'll be _able_ to see!"

"…Sonia!" Suddenly, Ani saw the rattlesnake approaching and Ani waved. "Sonia! Over here!"

Smirking, Sonia hurried over to the duo, and hid within the bushes. "I got the camera ready. Do we know when Jill's coming over with him?" she inquired.

"Soon-ish." Nage nodded. "Just watch; this is gonna be sweet."

"Aw man! I'm getting' impatient!" snickered Ani.

"Hey, sssh; someone's coming..." Sonia said with a hush to Ani.

Sonia was right, someone WAS coming. Two figures were walking toward their direction in the woods. "…it's them!" Ani gasped with a whisper. "Sonia, start recording!"

"Gotcha." Nodding, Sonia took out a camera, and began recording the scene.

"Okay, so…you hate me with your guts, but you say you want to talk to me?" Raider followed an impatient, irritated Jill into the scene, with her stopping at glaring at Raider. "Oh, I get it. You want to tell me off, don't you?" Raider figured with a fold of his arms.

Jill took out her notepad and wrote. Then she handed the noted to Raider.

"…So you want me to leave you alone once and for all, huh?" Raider smirked, crumpling up the note. "Fat chance."

Glancing at Ani, Nage began mouthing the words she spoke, so Raider wouldn't hear them. "...on my mark... spring it."

Ani nodded.

Jill folded her arms and glared at him some more. Then she turned…right as Raider grabbed her wrist. "Now where are you going?"

Sonia narrowed her eyes.

"...on my mark..." Nage mouthed, as she narrowed her eyes. "...ten... nine..."

"Now, you and I are gonna settle something here, so it isn't polite to walk away," Raider chuckled, yanking Jill closer while she tried to struggle out of his grip.

"...six... five... four..."

"I'm not gonna leave you alone," Raider snickered, grabbing Jill's chin to make her look at him. "Not as long as you and I are on the same island, and whether you like it or not, I'm gonna try and keep coming onto you…"

"...one... now!"

Ani jumped up and pulled a rope she had in her hands. "Surprise!"

Raider released Jill, and gawked. "Huh?"

"Too late!" both Nage and Sonia laughed, and with those words, the trap was sprung.

A piece of rope that had been concealed lassoed Raider's ankle and he shot up into the treetops, shooting through the leaves everywhere. "AGH!" he screamed, while Jill watched this with a growing smile. Nage's grin grew wider with every passing moment, whilst Sonia caught every second on tape; having a bemused expression on her already.

Ani was laughing her head off, and while the rope connected to him kept getting yanked with her telekinesis, she watched as Raider got more and more tangled up in the ropes up above.

The more he got tangled up, the more Nage began losing it; but she kept her composure as best as she could.

"…AGH!" Raider plunged through some weird, gooey stuff stored up there in the tree tops, and while he was covered in that stuff, he struck another pile of something; feathers.

Nage was getting closer and closer to losing it; but still, she kept her cool.

Finally, Raider fell back down from the trees but he dangled in the ropes that he was tangled up in. Covered and stuck with feathers, he felt disgusted. Ani used some of her telekinesis to move the ropes, and to Raider's horror, his arms and legs started moving. He had become Ani's marionette.

Ani laughed, "It worked!"

"...and now, the coup de grace." Chuckling, Nage took out a CD player. "...Sonia. You got this, right?"

"I got it all here." Sonia chuckled.

"...aaand..." Nage chuckled again, when she stopped. "...oh, Jill; move out of the way, please; we need _all of this_ on tape."

And she pressed PLAY.

Jill moved out of the way, so that the camera could get this, and when the music started to play, Ani started to move Raider.

His eyes widened. "…no…n-no! NO NO NO!" But he had no control over himself whatsoever.

It was at this point that Nage just lost it, and began rolling about on the ground. "YES! Dance, Raider, DANCE!" she cackled.

Embarrassing flashbacks of his previous experience of this flashed through Raider's mind, and suddenly, he blurted out, "THERE WAS NO WAY ANY OF YOU COULD'VE KNOWN ABOUT THAT!"

"...guess again!" Sonia sputtered; as she tried holding the camera steady in the midst of her laughing throes whilst filming this.

"SONIA, YOU PUT THAT FUCKING CAMERA DOWN OR I SWEAR!" the dancing chicken Raider roared, as the others just laughed.

"No can do!" Sonia laughed, as she didn't heed Raider's warning one bit.

"Now we have our own blackmail against you!" Ani laughed. "You harass Jill any more, and the entire island sees this video Raider!"

"Hell, make that harass _anyone_!" Nage shot in with a laugh. "That way, he won't bother anyone again!"

Raider screamed in anger while Ani continued to make him dance, and Sonia kept recording the whole thing.

* * *

><p>Wandering through the woods, Demi glanced around him with a hum. With today's training done with, he didn't have much else to partake in; especially since Crystal and Dax were busy with King at this moment in time...<p>

…while wandering, he suddenly spotted someone sitting on one of the logs in the woods, picking petals off of a flower.

"...ah... Oblivion." he uttered, as he began approaching her.

Oblivion didn't notice Demi come toward her; she seemed lost in thought, really… Demi noticed this, so he stopped a bit away from her, before clearing his throat; to get her attention. Oblivion blinked and looked up.

"…Oh! Demi!" she said.

"...hello, Oblivion." Demi said with a nod. "How are you doing?"

Oblivion smiled a little. "I'm doing alright…how about you?"

"...can't complain, really." Demi replied, as he smiled a bit as well. "You're not too busy at the moment, are you?"

"Not at all," Oblivion said.

"...then... maybe we could talk for a bit?" Demi suggested.

"…sure…" Oblivion said with a nod.

Sitting down by Oblivion, Demi looked at her. "...so... what have you been up to, recently?"

"…nothing much, really; not since Christmas…" Oblivion said. "…how about you? How is training going?"

"It's going well." Demi hummed. "No mishaps or anything to speak of, really."

"…that's good," Oblivion said.

"...though..." Demi hummed, as he rubbed his neck. "...Blood... I haven't gotten him to speak to me, yet..."

"…oh, you haven't, huh?" Oblivion murmured.

"...not a word from him," Demi sighed. "Though... at the very least, I haven't allowed him to take control on his own accord."

"…that's also good," Oblivion said with a smile.

Then she was suddenly yanked up. "AGH!" By her hair again, no less.

"Oblivion…I have a job for you…" growled a very murderous voice.

"Wha- hey!" Quickly, Demi shot up to his feet, and looked up at this tall figure. "Let her go!"

"Not a chance," growled a feathered covered Raider, fuming vehemently.

"Wh-wh-what…do you want…Raider?" Oblivion uttered, wincing in pain.

"…They…humiliated me…like you wouldn't believe…" Rauder snarled.

"…have you ever…thought of the fact that maybe…you deserved it?" Oblivion said, glaring at him.

"SHUT UP!" and he yanked her hair again to make her cry out.

"...stop that!" Quickly, Demi grabbed Raider's wrist, to try and break Oblivion free from his grasp.

Raider was strong enough that he just pushed Demi aside. "Stay out of this!" he roared at Demi when he landed on the ground. Oblivion was in enough pain that she was crying now.

"Raider, leave him alone!" she uttered.

"As long as you're coming with me!" Raider said, and he started yanking her away. "We're erasing that prank they ever did out of their heads and we're gonna destroy that tape!"

"...I told you to let her go, you bully!" In a desperate move, Demi shot to his feet, and ran to kick Raider in the only place he knew he could do some damage; between the ox's legs.

Raider stopped, and he winced at the kick, but then he shot a powerful punch right at Demi's face.

"Demi!" Oblivion uttered out, fearful for his welfare.

That punch sent Demi flying back considerably, as he mercilessly slammed against the ground. Coughing, Demi rubbed his face as he slowly tried getting on his feet. "...l-let... her... go..."

"C'mon!" Raider just ignored him and kept walking with Oblivion in his grip.

"...d-don't you ignore me..." Demi uttered, as he stumbled a bit. "...I told you... to let her go..."

At that point, he suddenly rushed right up to Raider, and grabbed the ox's arm.

"Take a hint!" And Raider tried shoving him away.

This time, however, Demi kept clutching to Raider's arm; to the point where his nails were even digging into the arm.

Raider winced at that, "Ow!" And tried even harder to try and push him away.

But Demi kept his grip strong. "...let her go."

Raider growled. "Fine!" but instead of just letting her go, he threw her against the trunk of a tree. Oblivion let out a yelp, and sat there, holding her sensitive scalp from all that hair pulling.

Demi actually hissed at that. "...you should've just let her go." he uttered.

"Maybe I didn't feel like it!" Raider growled at him. "Just what're you gonna do about it, huh?"

Demi narrowed his eyes. "...I'm going to teach you... not to harm her anymore."

Raider smirked in amusement. "Oh really?"

"...really."

And at that point, Demi suddenly _slammed_ Raider down to the ground with a single motion of his arm.

Oblivion jumped when she saw that, gawking silently while Raider groaned in agony at being thrown down.

With a frown, Demi suddenly stomped his foot down on Raider's chest.

"OOF!" Raider grunted at that, actually feeling some strength behind that. _…what the hell?_ He thought.

"...are you listening?" Demi grunted, as he kept pressing his foot down on Raider. "You keep away from her... or else."

"Alright! Fine! Fine…" Raider murmured. "…I'll leave her alone…"

"...you'd better." Demi hissed, before he kicked Raider a bit away. "Now get lost."

There was a lot of force behind that kick; enough that Raider rolled a bit before he got on his feet and hurried away. _Damn, looks like I'll have to find another way to get that stupid tape!_ He thought to himself.

Watching Raider leave, Demi just huffed...

...and all of a sudden he held his head, as he sank down to his knees. "...guh..."

"…Demi?" Oblivion got up weakly and limped over to him, setting a hand on his shoulder.

Demi held his head. "...h-he..." he uttered weakly. "...he... aided me..."

Oblivion blinked. "…Blood…aided you?"

"...y-yes..." Demi nodded. "...when I was struck by that ox... Blood wondered if I really wanted to help you... and I said yes." Then, he looked down at the ground. "...so... to protect you... he lent me his strength."

Oblivion knelt down and still looked at Demi silently.

…after a while…

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "…tell him I said thanks…" she said.

Demi blinked a bit at that... before he returned the hug. "...I will." he replied.

Oblivion got up then, helping Demi onto his feet.

"...thank you." Demi hummed.

"…y…you're welcome…" Oblivion murmured.

Clearing his throat a bit, Demi glanced a bit awkwardly to the side.

"…well…" Oblivion felt a bit awkward too. "...perhaps, I should…get going…"

"...maybe... I should head off, too..." Demi uttered in response.

"…well…I'll see you around, Demi…" Oblivion said, turning to walk away.

Demi nodded, as he began walking off as well. "...see you later, Oblivion..."

When they were out of each other sights, once again, Oblivion couldn't help but look back once more. _…I…don't understand why I felt so…awkward…_ she thought.

As he walked, Demi's thoughts began wandering as he rubbed his arm again. _...why did Blood give me power to protect her...? And... why do I feel so..._

…_n…no, I can't feel like that about someone!_ And Oblivion turned and ran.

_...could it be that...?_ When Demi turned to look back at Oblivion, she was already gone. _...huh..._ With a sigh of disdain, Demi wandered off as well.

* * *

><p>Raider got cleaned off, and a few days passed. He spent a lot of time thinking about how he'd get that tape…thing was, he didn't even know where it was. It could've been either at Jill's or at Sonia's…and either way, both places weren't going to be easy to get into.<p>

One night, he wandered out into the woods, pondering how to go about this. They'll hold that tape over his head forever…

"...well, now... _someone's_ looking fairly grumpy."

Raider stopped with a groan, rolling his eyes. "…Not in the mood, Hex."

"Why is that, I wonder?" Emerging from the shadows, Hex chuckled a little. "You don't usually seem this sour, Raider."

"...humph!" Raider went back to pacing back and forth. "…someone's got blackmail on me…"

"Aaaaw, did the pot finally hear from the kettle that he was black, too?" Hex chuckled in a carefree tone, as she sauntered over to the ox. "Tell me whoever's got dirt on you."

"…I don't know who's got it, that's the problem," Raider growled. "It's either Jill, or Sonia, or Ani, or heck; Maybe it's Nage and they're just trying to make me think…AGH!" he threw his arms up. "Either way, I can't do anything!"

"...so now, the mighty information hoarder is at his wits end." Hex mused, as she walked right in front of Raider, and stopped him from pacing by prodding his chest with a tentacle. "You know... it's amusing, when you think about it."

"…what?" Raider wasn't amused at all.

"You know... you've relished in collecting information about others, to keep blackmail and such on them." Hex chuckled. "So when the same thing happens to you... it's classic irony."

Raider just scoffed and swat away her tentacle, turning around sourly and folding his arms.

"...aaaw, someone's in a bad mood." Hex chuckled, before she walked around to look at Raider. "I think someone needs to be cheered up."

"The only way I'd cheer up is if that video was found and destroyed…" he growled.

"...oh, but that can be arranged." Hex chuckled. "Just wait until they've gone to say goodbye, and..." With a more devious chuckle, Hex got closer to Raider. "...in fact... you can leave that tape to me and my servants."

Raider blinked. "…really?"

"Of course." Hex chuckled, as she stopped right in front of Raider. "...for a nominal fee, of course."

Raider narrowed his eyes. "…let me guess…"

"Guess away." Hex said with a smirk.

Raider sighed. "Hex, I know you too well. What else could you possibly want in return?"

"Oh, it's not about what I want... it's about _how much_ of it." Hex said with a growing smirk on her.

"…how much, exactly?" Raider asked, trying to hide his unease.

Now, Hex's smirk turned absolutely threatening.

"...24 hours." she eventually said.

Raider's eyes widened.

"…you're…you're kidding, right?"

"Does it seem like it?" Hex chuckled, as she stepped even closer to Raider. "I've gone far too long without someone inside me, and I can't take my frustrations out on my servants; they're not hired for that sort of thing. As such... well, if you want that tape destroyed, you know what must be done."

"…okay, I'm drawing the line there," Raider said, stepping away. "I can live with blackmail…I have at least some self-respect." And he was just about to leave too…

"...oh, but Raider..." At that point, a pair of tentacles grabbed Raider, spun him around...

...and something sharp was jabbed into his chest.

"...I insist."

Raider hissed from the pain, looking down at his chest to see what she plunged there. It was a syringe, with a clear liquid being pressed directly into his body from it.

"...it took every last drop I had left... but _by god_, I'm going to have my way with someone, and it's going to make up for lost time." Hex said with a chuckle. "Now don't you worry about the tape, Raider... just let me take care of everything."

"…wha?"

Raider started to feel dizzy, and his thoughts blurred. He didn't know how to respond.

Chuckling, Hex removed the syringe once the liquid had fully been pressed into Raider's body. "...I'll give you the choice of where we'll begin. Out here in the woods... or in my personal quarters?"

"…I…agh…ugh…" Raider was trying to stay on his feet, and not only was he dizzy and fuzzy, but he started to feel really warm too. "…I…need to lie down…"

"...what's holding you back?" Hex chuckled, as she used her tentacles to slowly place Raider down on the ground, before she practically leapt on him to pin him down.

"...now it's just you and me..." she chuckled, as she leaned closer. "...well, Raider? Don't you want me?"

"…I don't know anymore…" Raider mumbled.

"...let me help you make a decision." Hex chuckled...

* * *

><p>Later on, it would only be just a few days now before the recruits left. They all spent their time packing and congratulating each other on good battles and whatnot.<p>

Demi, though…

Running through the forest, Demi narrowed his eyes a bit. _...she has to be here... I... have to at least make sure, before I leave... _Demi in the meantime, was running through the forest, trying to look for Oblivion. So far, he hadn't been able to find her, but that didn't stop him…

_...maybe she's become terrified of me because me and Blood helped her the other day... I want to make sure that it isn't the case..._

Eventually, Demi came back to the same log he remembered meeting her at, and sure enough, Oblivion was sitting there. She wasn't picking flowers though; she just sat there, stuck in thought.

"...Oblivion?" he managed to say; hoping to catch her attention.

Oblivion looked up. "…O-oh! Demi!"

"...Oblivion, I've been looking for you." Demi uttered, as he rubbed his neck a bit awkwardly. "...I, uh... I wanted to ask you something."

"…o-oh?" Oblivion looked away from him a bit…shyly.

Demi blinked at that. "...what's the matter?" he inquired.

"…it's nothing…" Oblivion murmured.

"...right..." Demi uttered, before he cleared his throat. "...well... I was just wondering, if, um..." Then, he glanced to the side. "...well... you remember back when that ox tried taking you away?"

"…yes?" Oblivion actually looked at him this time.

"...well... when I stopped him..." he uttered, as he drummed his fingers against each other. "...were you... afraid?"

"…what do you mean?" Oblivion asked.

"...well... when Blood gave me strength..." Demi uttered, as he looked at Oblivion. "...did I appear... frightening?"

Oblivion stared at Demi.

"…no, you didn't frighten me…" She said.

Demi seemed to lighten up a bit at that. "...I didn't?" he uttered, before sighing in relief.

Oblivion stood up, "…but I…I was afraid of something that day…" and she walked toward him.

Demi looked at Oblivion with a bewildered look. "...what were you afraid of?" he uttered. "The ox?"

Oblivion shook her head, and stopped right in front of him. "…I…I was afraid of…_this_…"

And she leaned forward, giving Demi a soft kiss on the lips. Demi's eyes suddenly widened, as he stood frozen to the spot.

They stayed like that for a little while, until Oblivion finally pulled away, blushing, and looked away from him shyly again.

"...you..." Demi uttered, as he briefly placed his hand on his own cheek; pulling it back when he realized that he was blushing as well.

"…I…was afraid that I would…feel that way…" Oblivion murmured.

Demi blinked. "...why?" he eventually inquired.

"…because…every time I had these feelings for someone, they were crushed…" Oblivion muttered. "…and…I have a responsibility to take care of my friend…I don't think I could…be with someone anyway…"

Demi blinked... and then he eventually nodded. "...I... see." he uttered.

"…it…was rude of me to wait until the last minute when you'll have to leave…to tell you… Oblivion murmured. "…I'm sorry…"

"...don't be."

And Demi wrapped his arms around Oblivion in a hug. "...at the very least... you _did_ tell me."

Oblivion blinked, blushing even more when he did that.

"...actually... to be honest..." Demi uttered, as he glanced to the side. "...I... um... I've felt something... similar..."

"…you have…?" Oblivion asked.

"...y-yes." Demi nodded. "...I just... didn't realize what it was, until you confessed..." Then, he let go of Oblivion, and just looked at her.

She stared back in silence.

"...well..." Demi uttered, as he looked at Oblivion. "...if... well, if we ever meet again..."

"…then…perhaps we can…" Oblivion nodded.

"...perhaps." Demi nodded as well, as he smiled a bit.

Oblivion smiled as well, but she wasn't sure what to do at this point.

"...so, then..." Demi hummed, as he glanced to the side; he didn't seem too certain about what to do.

Oblivion looked at Demi again…

…and…she couldn't really quite resist leaning toward him to kiss him again. Though he didn't move from where he stood, Demi kissed Oblivion back this time around. Oblivion felt a fluttering warmth, wanting more of it, but she forced herself to pull her lips away from him… Though he wanted more as well, Demi understood why she pulled away, so he still didn't move.

"…I'll…see you around…Demi…" Oblivion muttered.

"...y-yeah." Demi nodded.

Oblivion nodded, and turned to walk away.

With a slight nod, Demi walked off as well.

While Oblivion walked… she slowed and sighed. _…I…I don't want to walk away…but…_

Demi, too, slowed as well, and rubbed his arm as well._ ...if she feels that she can't, then I shouldn't... but..._

Oblivion eventually stopped and shut her eyes.

…was she really just going to leave Demi like that?

"…Demi, WAIT!" she suddenly called out, spinning around and running back to him.

Stopping, Demi looked back at Oblivion.

Oblivion threw her arms around him.

"…I…I should leave you like that, I mean…I…" she stumbled on what to say. "…I don't want you to leave, but I…I…I don't know…" Demi couldn't help but blink, as he slowly wrapped his arms around Oblivion; truth be told, he wasn't sure what to say either. "…you're…going to be gone in a few days…" Oblivion uttered. "…I feel like…I should give more to this goodbye…but I…"

Demi blinked a bit more. "...you... don't know what else to give?" he assumed.

"…yes…" Oblivion finally admitted.

"...mmh..." Humming, Demi glanced to the side. He wasn't sure if there was anything else to offer, either...

Oblivion held him tight. "…and in some ways…I…almost don't want you to leave…I…"

Demi nodded a little. "...I... think I understand..." he said.

"…you do?" Oblivion looked at him.

"...yes... a-at least, I think so." Demi said as he cleared his throat. "...as you said... I'll be gone in a few days... so..." He looked down at Oblivion again. "...maybe, before then..."

"…and…I…know you won't break my heart…" she murmured. "…so…"

Demi nodded slowly yet briefly, as he simply looked at Oblivion. Oblivion looked back at him in the same way.

As they simply stared at each other, Demi could feel a certain beating in his chest. Oblivion had the same feeling pound in her chest and silently, she tried to swallow it down. Slowly, and without a sound, Demi raised his hand up towards Oblivion's cheek; gently touching it. She shivered at the goose-bumps she felt when he touched her, setting her hands on his chest. It almost felt like the feeling in his chest intensified the moment she touched him, as Demi slowly leaned a little closer to Oblivion. Oblivion was frozen there, but she allowed him to come to her, slowly closing her eyes. Closing his eyes as well, Demi leaned in closer, before his lips eventually met hers.

Oblivion felt more goose-bumps when she felt his lips, kissing him back lightly. Making sure not to act too roughly, Demi kissed Oblivion slightly deeper. Oblivion shuddered a bit, but not out of fear, allowing him to do it. As he kissed her, Demi slowly stroked his thumb across her soft cheek. Oblivion sighed in content at that feeling, shivering with even more goose-bumps. Her hands moved from his chest to his back, holding him. With an appreciative sigh, Demi deepened the kiss a smidgen more; still caressing Oblivion's cheek with his thumb. Oblivion almost clutched to him while she kissed back just as deeply. Sighing in content at that, Demi moved his arms around Oblivion as well; holding her as he kept kissing her. Oblivion stroked his white hair while they kissed on. Slowly, Demi began deepening the kiss again, as he began stroking Oblivion's back. Oblivion breathed more at that, touching Demi's chin lightly. Demi shivered a bit at that, as he slowly held Oblivion tighter.

This was getting a bit intense for Oblivion, so she broke her lips away just to breathe for a moment. "…Demi…" she whispered breathlessly.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered as well, as he set his hand on her cheek again; this time, though, he didn't do it as slowly as he did before. Not to mention, his breathing seemed to quicken a bit.

Oblivion still tried catching her breath. It had been a very long time since she felt this way…and in a way where she didn't feel so nervous about this…

"...are you..." Demi uttered, as he tried catching his breath as well.

"…am I…what?" Oblivion asked curiously, still just a lip's distance away from him.

"...are you... nervous?" Demi responded.

"…maybe…a little…" she said. "…but I'm alright…actually…I've never felt so good in…such a long time…"

Once she caught her breath, she returned with another kiss. Sighing appreciatively, Demi deepened the kiss, and held her closer to himself. Oblivion wrapped her arms around his neck while she kissed him. As he began caressing her back, Demi deepened the kiss a bit more...

...and in the midst of their kiss, his wings actually wrapped themselves around both him and Oblivion; covering them from view. Oblivion grew more comfortable after that; she actually appreciated it for the privacy, and she held his cheek while she kissed him. As he kept kissing her, he began stroking her hair with one of his hands. With her experienced being yanked by it, being stroked through her hair felt quite nice for her, and Oblivion sighed in response. As he did that, he moved his other hand down along her side; slowly caressing it, as he deepened the kiss. Oblivion felt more goose bumps and shuddered in delight again.

As he kept caressing her side, he eventually moved his hand along her shoulder, whilst reaching her collarbone. He seemed slightly hesitant in moving from there... Oblivion, while noticing that, could feel herself getting warmer from all of this. Demi, too, seemed to grow warm from this, as his hand lightly skirted along the edge of her dress; as if waiting for permission to slide within it.

Oblivion almost wasn't sure…she had experienced men who tried to force this onto her, and so she had never really been comfortable with it. With Demi, though…she was strangely relaxed…but cautious just as well. She didn't stop him, but she did remain aware of what would happen…even with how feverish she began to feel from all of this.

Eventually, Demi slid his hand within her dress; caressing her bare skin underneath it. More goose bumps ran down her legs, and she muttered a tiny moan. That seemed to spur Demi slighty, as he deepened the kiss some more while continuing to caress her. She breathed unsteadily while she kissed back. She felt so much emotion, and in a way, it was making it hard for her to keep track of what was going on, getting more and more lost in the moment.

After a short while, Demi broke away from the kiss, only to lean down and kiss Oblivion's neck. Oblivion's head arched back with another tiny, unsteady moan. As he riddled her neck with kisses, the hand within her dress began trailing upwards, whilst his other hand moved down to her shoulder; caressing her there as well.

It felt good…_really_ good…

…but it made Oblivion nervous a little…this was farther than she was used to going… Demi, however, didn't seem to notice, as he kept caressing Oblivion and kissing her neck. Unlike all the other times where she would panic, though, she kept with it with a few more moans of appreciation…

Eventually, without ceasing to caress her, Demi broke away from Oblivion's neck, and rose up to look right at her; a lip's distance away from her. "...do you... want me to go further...?" he whispered breathlessly.

Oblivion breathed, trying to decide between the choices. This is father than she's really gone before, and in some ways she was still a bit nervous…

"…yes…" that word came out of her mouth before she knew it though.

"...alright..." With that, he moved in to kiss her lips once again, whilst his hand moved up towards her chest. The more his hand crept toward there, the more goose-bumps Oblivion felt and it caused her to quiver. Soon enough, his hand came in contact with one of her breasts; gently stroking it while Demi deepened the kiss even more.

Oblivion gave a shaky moan at that.

Slowly, he took hold of her breast; but not too roughly, as if he was trying not to be too forceful. Oblivion still trembled…but she hadn't felt this kind of pleasure before, and in some ways, she almost wanted to feel more…but she still felt nervous about this. As he began caressing Oblivion's breast, Demi pulled her a bit closer to him; deepening the kiss further once more. Oblivion kissed him longingly, moaning a little more. As they were lost in their make-out, Demi moved his other hand down towards Oblivion's legs; beginning to caress them as well. Oblivion felt hotter and her heart pounded more rapidly. She even wrapped one of her legs around him. Demi, too, was growing hotter by the moment, as he began stroking her waist.

Oblivion broke from kissing to arch her head back again in pleasure. "Demi…" she moaned.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered breathlessly, as he gave her neck a lingering kiss.

She slowly gasped at that, stroking the back of his head. Slowly, Demi pulled Oblivion closer to him as he kept kissing Oblivion's neck. "...Oblivion..."

Oblivion gasped slowly at that. "…Demi…"

"...Oblivion..." With that slight gasp, Demi kept kissing her.

"…Demi…" Oblivion couldn't get over just how good this felt…and she finally relaxed from being so nervous earlier.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered once more, before he lifted up from kissing her neck, letting him look at her once more as he placed his hand over her chest; letting him feel her heart beat.

Oblivion's head rose, breathing…and she set her hand on top of his on her chest. "…Demi…"

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered, leaning closer to her. "...do you... want to go... further...?"

"…I…I don't know…" she whispered faintly. "…I want to, but…but I…I…"

"...don't worry..." Demi whispered as well. "...do as you please..."

"…yes…I…I do…"

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered, as he kept caressing her side; leaning in so that their lips were just a tiny bit apart.

"…Demi…" she uttered with another quivering breath…

Why was she insisting on going further? Oblivion would've stopped it long before it had gotten to this point. Why wasn't she stopping?

…had…she denied herself something like this for so long? _Too_ long, maybe? She had no idea that she'd feel such strong emotions like these, and usually she was able to control herself…

"...Oblivion..."

With that, Demi suddenly moved in and kissed her passionately. Oblivion was blown away by the passion of it, and she kissed back, feeling her heart beating fast again. Pulling her in as close as possible, Demi kept kissing her so feverously. Oblivion was glad that his wings concealed them, so that no one would see them acting like this. While she was very surprised by his kissing, she also felt like she was melting in his arms…

As he kept kissing her, he commenced caressing her waist and breasts once more; with equal passion driving his hands on. Oblivion blushed a little bit, and started moaning more. After a while, he moved one of his hands back up to her shoulder; rubbing it sensually, while also seeming to want to remove her dress...

Oblivion started to grow nervous again…especially since he wanted to start taking off her dress. Though he seemed eager, he stayed his hand; as if wanting Oblivion's approval before doing so.

In some ways, Oblivion was still very nervous…but she started acting without thinking. She reached behind and pulled apart the part of her dress that was around her neck for him. Taking that as her approval, Demi began slowly removing her dress. Oblivion shuddered again, a mix of excitement and uneasiness, and her heart really pounded against her chest. As he slowly removed her dress, he kept caressing more of her bare skin as it was revealed. Oblivion kept gasping so much that her head arched back again, away from kissing. "D-Demi…" she uttered.

"...Oblivion..." Again, Demi began kissing her neck as he eventually got the dress completely off her.

Oblivion shivered because of how cold it was now; and she became very uneasy. She just let herself become naked in front of someone…and to be honest, it was a first for her. "D-Demi…" and she tensed up a bit.

"Oblivion..." Stroking her back as if to relieve that tension, Demi kept kissing at her neck.

Oblivion, then, reacted with panic.

"D-Demi, s-stop!" and she pushed him away from her, but not enough for his wings to be bumped out of place…

Demi blinked a bit at that, as he looked at her with a slightly startled look. "...Oblivion?" he uttered.

Oblivion covered her naked chest uneasily, looking away from Demi.

"...Oblivion, are you-" Demi uttered, when he stopped himself; as if realization struck him. "...you're..."

Oblivion spun around with her back to him, trying to hide how embarrassed she was.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered again, as he glanced aside a bit awkwardly. "...you're... nervous... right?"

"…y-yes…"

Gulping, Demi looked at her again. "...truth be told... I'm a bit nervous, too..."

Oblivion glanced back at him over her shoulder. "…I-I've just…never really…willingly done this before…"

"...I... I see..." Demi uttered with a nod. "...actually... this is... m-my first time..."

"…is it?" Oblivion asked.

"...yes." Demi nodded.

Oblivion looked down at the ground awkwardly.

"...look..." Demi eventually said, as he stepped closer to her. "...if you're... hesitant about this... I understand," Saying that, he looked at her. "...but... I just want you to know that... I'd never try to hurt you, in any way, shape or form."

Finally, she eventually turned around, not looking as nervous as before, and she came closer to Demi again. Demi simply looked at her this time.

"…I…know that…" Oblivion murmured. "…I'm just…scared…"

"...scared...?" Demi hummed.

Oblivion nodded, getting close enough to place her hands on his chest again. "…I…don't really know…what to do…"

Remaining silent, Demi placed a hand gingerly on Oblivion's cheek. Oblivion closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling a little.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ah, the magic of editing...yeah, yeah, I know you guys don't like reading this stuff... But hey, it's better than reading what Hex is doing to Raider.<em>**

* * *

><p>"...are you okay...?" Demi uttered, as he held Oblivion.<p>

"…I…I think so…" Oblivion replied.

"...did... that feel good?" Demi inquired.

"…actually, it did…" and she sighed a little, resting her head on his shoulder.

"...that's... good." Demi hummed.

Oblivion eventually looked up at Demi. Demi looked back at Oblivion.

"…Demi…" Oblivion muttered faintly, touching his cheek.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered, as he placed his own hand on her cheek as well.

"…Demi…" she leaned closer again.

"...Oblivion..." And he leaned forward to kiss her once more.

Oblivion couldn't help it…there was just something about this she couldn't pull away from. It was incredible for her to feel something like this… Demi, too, felt that this was something extraordinary; he relished every second that he and Oblivion were like this.

Oblivion's legs unwrapped from around Demi so that she could stand, while she still kissed him. Caressing Oblivion's sides, Demi kept kissing her with the same passion and drive. Oblivion's hand wandered on Demi while she kissed back just as passionately. Breathing a bit at Oblivion's soft touch, Demi kept caressing and kissing her. Oblivion moaned a little at that…

…then she suddenly pulled away.

"…we…we shouldn't be out here…" she muttered. "…someone might…"

"...o-oh!" Demi uttered, as his face turned beet red from realization. "...y-you're right..." he nodded. "...but... where do we...?"

"…I…don't know…" Oblivion murmured. "…maybe…we can find some of the ruins from some of the old GUN base to hide out until…"

"...alright..." Nodding, Demi quickly scooped up Oblivion and her dress, before he took to the air; quickly flying off towards the GUN base, to find some ruins.

"…do you…use them to fly…a lot?" Oblivion asked curiously.

"...not really." Demi admitted.

"…they're…very quick…" Oblivion pointed out, just as they found an opened crack to the inside of part of the old ruined GUN base.

"...thanks." Demi said with a small smile, just as he managed to fly into that crack; quickly coming to a halt as he landed.

Inside, it just seemed to be a small room, with vines crawling all over the place…but there was a pile of leaves in there that looked fairly soft enough.

Seeing that, Demi carried Oblivion over to the pile of leaves, and gently set her down on it. "...comfy?"

"…fairly…" Oblivion simply just looked back up at Demi.

Leaning down by Oblivion, Demi placed a hand on her cheek once more. "...that's good..."

Oblivion placed a hand on his chest, blushing a little bit.

Smiling a little, Demi leaned in to kiss Oblivion. Oblivion kissed him back, while relaxing on the pile of leaves. As he kissed her, Demi lied down next to her; stroking her body again. Oblivion trembled once again, feeling the goosebumps. Trailing his hand along her thigh, Demi deepened the kiss a little. Oblivion clutched to his chest, breathing quickly. Breathing as quickly as she did, Demi began pulling her closer, as his wings began wrapping around them again.

Oblivion felt more relieved being wrapped up by his wings, also warming up a bit because of it since her body pressed against his. It also didn't help the fact that the two of them were heating up in the moment. She wrapped her arms around him to hold him, and kissed him back. Deepening the kiss, Demi continued to caress her body. Oblivion wrapped just one of her legs around Demi again, trailing a finger across his back.

Shuddering in delight, Demi broke away to start kissing Oblivion's neck; though a bit rougher than before. Oblivion moaned a little bit, feeling even more goose bumps from that. Little by little, it seemed like Demi kissed her neck rougher and rougher; though not so much that she'd become uncomfortable...

Oblivion wondered about that a little, but she just disregarded it, imagining that Demi was getting more and more absorbed into this. She was too, as she moaned and clutched to Demi.

Demi's breathing quickened, as he grew more and more rough in kissing her neck; even slightly grinding his teeth against her...

...and suddenly, he actually bit down on her.

Oblivion gasped; her eyes popping open in surprise. "D-Demi?"

However, Demi didn't seem to hear her, as he kept caressing Oblivion whilst still keeping his teeth on her neck. She felt pain, yes, but…she felt something very strange as well…the pain almost immediately started to numb away on her… Still, Demi kept caressing her, as he bit down slightly harder. Now Oblivion started to feel even stranger…

…and it seemed pleasant. Oblivion shuddered and moaned even more at Demi's caresses, growing more and more sensitive to his touch. "Demi…" she also felt even hotter.

* * *

><p><em>Later that night…<em>

* * *

><p>Oblivion was fast asleep, but she started waking up when she felt a cold chill that made her shiver. She rubbed her arms to try and warm up a bit…and then realized she was still naked. Her eyes opened, staring right at Demi right beside her.<p>

"…oh my!"

She jumped away in slight surprise.

"...mnh..." With a low hum, Demi turned a bit in his sleep.

This was _really_ awkward for her…mainly because she was the one this time who had a hard time remembering what happened. She remembered Demi carrying her in here so that they wouldn't be seen, and once they got into it…

She gasped in realization, blushing slightly.

When it was getting really intense, she remembered Demi biting her on the neck. Things started to get hazy from there…but bits of images came to her, little by little. The more she started to remember, the more she blushed. _…oh my…I…acted like that…?_ She thought with embarrassment.

"...ngh..." Again, Demi turned in his sleep.

She looked at herself, seeing a lot of leaves stuck to her and stuck in her hair. She brushed them off of her and looked for her dress, which she eventually found tossed aside in the corner of the room.

Once she got dressed, she looked back at Demi again.

Still, he remained asleep.

Oblivion wondered to herself… should she just leave him be and walk away…or should she wake him up?

"...mnh..." Again, he turned; this time so that he faced towards Oblivion.

Oblivion looked down onto the floor…she knew that despite what just happened…she still couldn't commit herself to anyone. She had responsibilities to take care of Charon…

With that in mind, Oblivion quietly went toward the crack in the wall they came through.

"...Oblivion...?"

Oblivion stopped with her heart skipping a beat. "…Demi?" she uttered, looking back.

Slowly, Demi sat up from where he had been lying, as he rubbed his head. "...Oblivion... are you there...?" he yawned.

"…I'm…over here," Oblivion said.

Slowly, Demi turned to look at her. "...are you... leaving...?" he uttered.

"…I was…going to…" Oblivion muttered, looking away from him.

"...I see..." Demi nodded slowly, before he rubbed his head. "...ngh... is it night, already... did we-" And in that instant, his eyes widened in realization, and he blushed immensely. "...oh. OH. _**OH.**_" he uttered in surprise.

Oblivion blushed again and she tried to hide it. "…um…yeah…"

Looking slightly panicked, Demi quickly got to his feet. "...I-I'm sorry about that. Blood must've influenced my actions... to think that I made you..."

Oblivion rubbed her arm a bit uncomfortably, still not looking at him.

"...Oblivion..." Demi uttered, as he began approaching her. "...I... didn't hurt you, did I?"

"…I…I don't know, to be honest…most of it is still a bit blurry for me," she muttered.

"...I..." Demi uttered, as he glanced to the side. "...I... oh, darn, this is awkward..."

"…maybe I…I should go…" Oblivion murmured.

"...mnh..." With a slight gulp, Demi looked back at Oblivion. "...hey. I know that you'll be staying here when I leave... but, if by some chance you should leave the island..."

Oblivion looked back at Demi then.

"...well... maybe we could... meet up again?" he suggested.

"…I'd like that…" Oblivion said, smiling just a little bit.

Seeing that, Demi smiled a little as well.

Just then, Oblivion leaned forward and gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the lips. Demi, in turn, softly kissed her back.

It took a long time before Oblivion finally pulled away, and with one last glance to Demi, she climbed out of the crack outside.

Demi just watched her leave with a slight smile, as he rubbed his arm a bit.

While Oblivion walked, she started thinking to herself. While she couldn't really afford to be with anyone, it would at least give Demi a chance to get used to Blood…after what she went through, she still couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. _…I had no idea he could do that…_ she thought.

As he watched her leave, Demi glanced down at the ground, as he rubbed his neck. _...Blood... seems like that's not the only thing he acquired a taste for..._ he thought, before he sighed. _...not to mention... that thing he pulled with my teeth... I need to find out what it is, and how to keep myself from..._

* * *

><p>Oblivion walked a long way through the woods, until she finally got to the cave that Charon was resting at. She looked up at the moon, seeing it in the middle of the sky. "…it's late…" she murmured to herself. "…Charon's probably asleep…"<p>

So she stepped on inside.

When she got further in. "…Charon?" she whispered out. "…Charon? Are you asleep?"

"...Oblivion..." a low voice hummed from further in the cave. "...you were out late... you had me worried for a moment..."

"Sorry about that," she answered, heading toward the voice.

Sure enough, there was Charon, who simply looked at her. "...where were you?" he inquired curiously.

"Oh, I was just…talking with a new friend…" Oblivion said, trying to smile. "…I suppose I lost track of time…"

"...ah; I see..." Charon nodded with a slight smile as well... when he started to sniff at the air. "...huh... do you smell that?"

Oblivion blinked curiously. "…smell what?"

"...it's... an unfamiliar smell..." Charon uttered, as he kept sniffing at the air. "...it's... coming from you." he hummed.

Oblivion stopped…and grew nervous.

"…it…is?"

"...yes..." Charon nodded. "...but... I've never smelled anything like it before... it's strange..." Humming, he looked at her curiously. "...did you eat something new, or something?"

"Uh—no, I…I didn't…" she looked away from him in discomfort.

"...is something the matter?" Charon hummed.

Oblivion looked up at Charon a bit…timidly.

Charon just looked at her with a more or less confused look in his eyes.

Eventually, Oblivion turned away from him, rubbing her arm.

"...hm." With a slight hum, Charon simply lied down. "If it makes you feel uneasy, I shouldn't push it..." he yawned.

Oblivion glanced at him for a moment, and looked away again.

"…maybe…I…did more than just…talk…"

"...hm?" Charon blinked, as he looked at Oblivion again.

"…this friend…I…he helped me when I got in trouble and I…" Oblivion tried to figure out how to start explaining it. She even wondered why she was explaining it to Charon…but Charon was her friend, and at least he deserved to know…

Still, Charon just looked at her with that curious look in his eyes.

"…so I…I had feelings for him…"

Hearing that, Charon blinked. "...feelings...?"

"…yes, but I was…sort of afraid to have feelings so I…I didn't see him for a while," Oblivion answered. "…not until earlier today…"

Charon still looked at Oblivion with a curious look.

"…I told him why I didn't see him…and…it turned out that he had feelings for me too…" Oblivion murmured. "…One thing led to another, and I…"

Charon still didn't seem to entirely get it, as he tilted his head a little.

"…well, we got…um…intimate."

"...intimate...?" Charon hummed.

Oblivion blushed. "…yes…intimate."

"...I... see..." Charon hummed, as he nodded a little. "...I'm... not sure I know what you imply, but... you were close, right...?"

"Uh…I suppose in a way we were," Oblivion started getting nervous. "…_physically_ close…"

Charon blinked at the way she emphasized the word 'physically'. "...uh... I see..." he hummed, before he tilted his head. "...is... there something wrong about that...?"

Oblivion looked at Charon. "…you don't…catch my drift?"

"...aside from the fact that you don't seem particularly comfortable... I suppose I'm not." Charon hummed.

Oblivion was silent when she looked away, and she grew so nervous she blurted out.

"We had sex, Charon!"

And then there was more silence.

Needless to say, Charon was more than thrown off by that answer, as he just looked at Oblivion in disbelief. "...you..." he uttered.

Oblivion blushed bright red in embarrassment. "…that's…probably…what you smelled…Charon…"

"...maybe... so..." Charon uttered carefully...

...and in an instant, he quickly approached Oblivion. "He didn't force you, did he? Did he hurt you? Are you alright? How did this happen?" he sputtered in a baffled and worried tone.

"…N-no! No, he didn't force me!" Oblivion uttered, trying to keep him calm.

"But did he hurt you?" Charon repeated. "And... you were gone so long! Was all that time spent doing...?" Needless to say, it'd take a lot of effort to calm him down.

"No, he didn't hurt me!" Oblivion tried to remain calm herself to try and calm Charon down.

"But... aargh, I don't even know who this other person is!" Charon uttered in a worried tone. "Who was it, Oblivion?"

"It was one of the newcomers, Charon!" Oblivion uttered. "One of the ones that are leaving in a few days!"

"Leaving in a few-!" Charon sputtered. "But- what if he- I mean- he's gonna- and-" Needless to say, Charon couldn't exactly form a coherent sentence at the moment.

"Charon, Charon, slow down!" Oblivion uttered nervously.

For the moment, it seemed like there was no calming Charon down, until he began breathing because of his constant stutters. "...buh... Oblivion..." he uttered. "..._you had sex?_" he finally said in complete disbelief.

Oblivion turned red in the face again, looking down at the ground. "…It…sounds bad, I know but…"

"...but what?" Charon uttered, as he just rubbed his head from this sudden bomb dropped on him.

"…it just…happened so fast that…I'm just as surprised as you are about this…" Oblivion muttered.

"...I... would imagine so..." Charon uttered, as he sighed in disbelief.

"…he didn't hurt me, and it wasn't forced," Oblivion said. "It was just…" Oblivion just didn't know how to describe it.

"...just... what?" Charon uttered.

"…I let him leave…because…I couldn't afford to get involved with anyone…" Oblivion sat down, becoming sad. "…I suppose it happened because in some ways I was…desperate, I mean…" she covered her face and sighed. "…I don't know…"

As he calmed down, Charon just looked at her. "...Oblivion..."

"…even if I liked him…and…despite what happened…It wouldn't be right for me to keep him here, or for me to try and be involved with someone else…" Oblivion muttered. "…I…have to try and take care of you…"

Charon blinked again. "...you... would let go of that... just for my sake...?"

"…yes, I would," Oblivion answered.

"...that's..." Charon uttered, as he glanced to the side. He hadn't thought that he'd hear something like that...

Oblivion stroked back her hair, sighing again.

"...well... what's done is done." Charon uttered, as he nodded slowly. "...we should probably go to sleep..."

"…yeah…" Oblivion stood up…and then she looked out toward the mouth of the cave in the distance.

Charon blinked. "...something on your mind...?"

"…no, it's nothing…" Oblivion said, turning to join Charon…

…but in reality, Oblivion wondered about Demi…about whether or not he'll be alright…

Charon simply nodded. "...alright..." he nodded. "...good night, then..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Reminds me of that scene in the Clannad After Story where Nagisa tells her dad the obvious. "We had sex and sex makes babies!" and then the hilarity ensues XD Ed probably wouldn't know what I was talking about, but either way, I had fun writing this scene.<em>**


	26. Chapter 26

The day finally came where all of the newcomers would depart. Soldiers cheered while the ferry stopped by and opened up.

Among them was Demi, who once again wore his cloak and mask, trying not to stand out too much. _...she's not here..._ he thought in slight disdain.

"…what's the matter, Demi?" Crystal suddenly asked, looking at him curiously.

"...nothing." he replied. "I was just thinking about things."

"…thinkin' about what?" Crystal asked, setting her hands on her hips. "No secrets now, Demi…"

"...I was just thinking about what to do from here." Demi said, as he glanced at Crystal.

"Oh?" Crystal grew curious.

Demi nodded. "...I suppose I should try and come to an agreement with the one within me..." he said, "If I could do that... I could grow strong enough to protect those close to me."

"...guess that's wise," Crystal said…then suddenly, someone put their hand on Demi's shoulder. When Crystal saw, she raised her eyebrow at the one who set their hand on Demi's shoulder. "Who're you?"

"…a friend…"

Hearing that voice, Demi glanced behind him.

Oblivion stood there, looking at him. "…I…came to see you off," she said.

Demi blinked; though you couldn't really see it underneath his mask. "...really?"

Oblivion smiled a little bit, blushing. "…yeah…"

Demi actually smiled and blushed as well; though again, the mask concealed that. "...thanks." he said with a nod to her.

Crystal snickered. "Oh, I see…it's THAT kind of friend."

Oblivion turned even redder at that.

Demi turned just as red. "Guh..."

"Don't worry, I won't say nuthin'," Crystal chuckled, "but I gotta say Demi…you've got game to get a girl like her." And Demi turned so red that one could practically see it through his mask at this point. Crystal laughed, and Dax chuckled a little bit. Oblivion blushed even more, but she couldn't help but giggle, herself. Eventually, not even Demi could keep himself from chuckling just a little bit, as he scratched his cheek a bit.

Meanwhile, Cyrene stroked Flamenco's chin with her tail. "I'll only leave for a while, but I'll return…" she chuckled. "Better not flirt with any other girls while I'm gone…"

"_Si_, you have the word of this toucan's beak…" Flamenco answered.

"And don't worry; I'll keep an eye on 'im, so he doesn't step outta line!" Lin called with a hearty laugh from where she stood.

Cyrene chuckled again, walking away from Flamenco toward the ferry.

When she got aboard, Flamenco sighed. "…I need a break from women…"

Lin gasped a bit. "...d-does that include me?"

Flamenco laughed, "That's not what I meant, Lin."

Lin blinked a bit. "...oh. Okay, then." she chuckled sheepishly.

Not too far from there, Nage was conversing with Ani. "Alright... this is where we part." Nage hummed, as she stretched her hand out to Ani. "Thinking of that prank with ya... that was some of the funniest stuff I've done in a while."

"Oh yeah, definitely!" Ani laughed.

"I'll see if I can come and visit some day! Then we can think of an even BIGGER prank!" Nage laughed.

"I'll hold you to that!" Ani said, smirking.

With a grin, Nage began walking off to the ferry. "I'll see you around, then!" she called.

"See ya!" Ani called with a wave.

Meanwhile, back with Crystal, Dax, Demi and Oblivion, King suddenly approached them; or, to be more specific, he approached Crystal. "...well, I've taught ya all I can. I hope you use those skills well, Crystal!" he said with a nod to her.

"Thanks for the training, King!" She chuckled, raising her fist. "Lightning Bro fist?" and her fist crackled with purple electricity.

Seeing that, King's eyes widened briefly, before he grinned. "I didn't teach you that! You're a quick learner!" And as his own fist crackled with blue electricity, he raised it with intent of giving her that bro-fist.

Sparks crackled when the fists bumped, and Crystal laughed. "Better watch out King! Sometime later in the future I just might come back for a challenge!"

"Well, I'll be waiting! And I'll make sure to throw moves you won't see coming!" King laughed.

Demi chuckled a bit at their enthusiasm.

Finally, all of the soldiers started to get on the ferry now, but when Crystal and Dax headed toward it, Dax hesitated. "…you coming, Demi?" he called back, looking at him and Oblivion.

Demi blinked at that, as he looked from them to Oblivion. "...um..."

Oblivion looked back at Demi silently…eventually she took his hand and held it. "…I'll…see you in the future…" she murmured.

Demi looked at Oblivion, before he nodded. "...that's... a promise." he hummed, as he held her hand as well.

Oblivion nodded…then in a sneaky way, she pulled away the mask and kissed him; in a way that no one else could really see the kiss behind the mask.

Course, that didn't change the fact that anyone could just assume what was going on... Crystal grinned. "Woohoo! Go Demi!"

Demi instantly blushed, but he couldn't resist kissing her back, even for just a bit.

Oblivion finally pulled away, putting the mask back on him and clearing her throat in embarrassment, blushing.

Demi did the same, but he still managed a small smile. "...I'll... see you later, then..." And he began walking towards the ferry, though his gaze remained on Oblivion.

"…yeah…" Oblivion responded, watching him climb aboard the ferry.

Now, with everyone aboard the ferry, it slowly began pulling away from the harbor; sailing off. Even so, Demi kept walking along the railing; just so he could look towards Oblivion before she was out of sight.

Oblivion pushed her way past the soldiers to the edge of the docks, keeping her eyes fixed on Demi for as long as possible.

The same went for Demi, as the two kept looking towards each other, until the ferry had gone so far off into the horizon that Oblivion could only see it as a dot.

Even to the point where the soldiers started leaving, Oblivion still stood there on the docks, watching the ferry float away.

Soon, she was the only one standing on the docks, and the ferry had long since vanished over the horizon...

"...what a sight."

Oblivion gave a startled yelp with a jump and spun around.

There, she saw Spiel standing with his arms folded and a smirk across his lips. "...wouldn't have thought that you'd fall in love, Oblivion; never took you for that type." he chuckled.

Standing next to Spiel was Krieg, who had his arms folded as well.

"…uh…well, I…um…" She looked away from him in more embarrassment.

"Oh, you don't need to be shy; there's no need to hide it from me." Spiel chuckled. "...but to think that he didn't stay... could it be that you're gonna take Charon and fly out after him, hm?"

Oblivion swallowed, looking back at him. "…I…don't…I didn't think about that…"

"...oh, is that right?" Spiel hummed. "Then this is that whole 'star-crossed lovers' thing I've heard a bit about." Chuckling, Spiel shook his head. "Well, I won't tell anyone about it, so you don't need to worry about that. And Krieg here's gonna keep quiet about it, too."

Krieg nodded at that.

Oblivion looked slowly at the warthog. "…Krieg…?"

"One of the newcomers." Spiel chuckled. "Now he's staying as my subordinate."

"...he helped me out." Krieg nodded. "I owe him a lot."

"…nice to meet you…" Oblivion greeted, to be polite.

"...likewise." Krieg nodded.

"...well, let's head off." Spiel chuckled. "I figure that Charon's running low on food again, so we should get the usual for him, right?"

Oblivion nodded. "…right…"

* * *

><p>"So, did you get the video?" Raider asked, folding his arms.<p>

"Just about." Hex chuckled. "It was hidden in Sonia's house, and with her being out for the day..." With another chuckle, Hex held up the tape that Raider so desired; being snared in one of her tentacles.

Raider grunted…and he took the tape. "…I'm holding a grudge against you for what you did…" he grumbled.

Hex chuckled. "Oh, don't act like you didn't enjoy it." she said with a smirk. "...I just hope that I can get more of that stuff in some time during the new year; that way, I could have so much more fun with so many more people..."

"You drugged me; it doesn't count," he grumbled, snapping the tape in half with his bare hands. "There."

"Well, you got what you wanted; and I did so as well." Hex chuckled, as she prodded Raider's gut with a tentacle. "...but you know... you were _really_ adorable when you were submissive." she mused.

"And you were _sick._ Still are…" Raider turned with a huff to leave.

"...maybe you could swing by one of these days, if you need to cool off?" Hex chuckled.

"In your dreams…" Raider scoffed, before he left.

"...oh, they'll be _good_ dreams." Hex chuckled, as she slithered off.

* * *

><p>"<em>Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Joy! Happy Birthday to you!"<em>

With a cheer all around her, Joy took a deep breath and blew out. All the candles flickered out, and when Joy stopped blowing, there was more cheer around her. She giggled with excitement.

"Man, she's really growing up!" Sonia laughed. "3 years, already!"

"I know, right?" Ani laughed.

Jill smiled cutting up the cake so that everyone else could have a piece. Joy was the first one to receive her piece of cake and she took a bite out of it immediately. "Yummy!" Joy exclaimed.

"Kekeke; hope you like it!" Ripper said with a chuckle, as he got his own slice.

"It certainly looks delicious." Miser said with a smile, as she got a slice as well.

"...hm." Chuckling, Queen allowed the others around the table to take slices of their own.

"…three years old already…in some ways I just can't really believe it," Hunter remarked, taking a slice of his own.

"The years just fly by," Ani added when she got a slice. "…that means it's been almost four or five years since I saw the boys last! That's a _long_ time!" Then Ani stopped. "…uh, I mean…" She looked at Jill. "I didn't mean to…"

Jill smiled a little and shook her hand at Ani, telling her that she wasn't offended.

"...well, maybe one of these days..." Sage hummed, before she glanced at Jill. "...well... if you feel ready... maybe we could pay them a short visit?"

Jill half smiled a little…nodded lightly. She wasn't ready now…but someday…

Joy looked curiously at all of them. "Who're ya talkin' 'bout?"

"Oh, nobody Joy," Hunter said. "You'll get to meet them someday too…"

"...but for now, let's eat." King said with a chuckle. "This cake's making me hungry just looking at it!"

"You won't get full from just eating cake." Queen remarked with a slight smile, before she finally took a slice. "You'll just end up with a stomach-ache."

"This is GOOD!" Ani said with a smirk after a bite.

"Kekekeke! _Really_ good!" Ripper added with a laugh.

"It's heavenly!" Miser said with a wide smile. "I need this recipe for later!"

"Yeah, who made this cake?" Hunter asked.

"Jill did it." Sage shot in, as she took a bite of the cake; still smiling brightly. "All on her own, to boot."

Wide eyes went to Jill. "Really?" Ani said, still with her big smirk.

Jill blushed a bit, while eating her cake.

"I suppose working in a malt shop has its own rewards," Hunter chuckled.

"You can say that again." Queen nodded.

"Alright; I call dibs on the next slice!" King laughed, as he had already finished his slice.

"King, you ought to wait for the others to finish as well!" Sonia said with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, and you might get a stomach ache like Queen said," Hunter added.

"Ache-smache! I'm having another one too!" Ani laughed.

Queen simply chuckled. "...no changing your minds, huh..." she mused in a bemused tone.

"Nope!"

Jill would've chuckled if she could…and after she finished her own slice, she couldn't help but get lost in thought again… Joy was three years old now…that meant that it had been almost five years since those events long ago…five years that she had lost her voice…five years when she last saw…

…Metal.

She looked over at Joy, smiling when she saw bits of cake on the little ewe's cheeks while she still ate her first slice slowly in appreciation. Jill never thought she'd be here like this after so many years later…

…if it got her here in a matter of five years…just what could the future have in store for her?

"...are you gonna have another slice, Jill?" Sonia inquired, as she looked at Jill with a smile.

Jill shook her head in reply. One slice was good enough for her.

* * *

><p>As night began creeping up along the horizon one evening, most people would head off to sleep at this moment in time. Not only the soldiers of Safe Haven, but also the citizens of many other cities. Westopolis, Station Square, and so many others; even those living in remote areas such as the Mystic Ruins were going to sleep at this hour...<p>

...even in a lone, desolate city known as Metropolis...

"...another day ends." With a low sigh, he stumbled tiredly through the halls. Having spent this day, like so many others, trying to see what effects that transformation had on his body, with little to no success, he was absolutely exhausted...

...which would be more than enough incentive for _him_ to make his move...

He could practically feel that being pounding at his skull, and tearing at his body from within. There didn't pass a moment where he didn't expect the vampire to forcefully knock him out, just so he could have more than one shot at escaping his prison per day...

...but he persevered.

Because he needed to protect everyone from that kind of threat.

Stepping into his room, where he saw that familiar bed lying in wait for him, he trudged over to it, and collapsed on top of it. As his cybernetic eye slowly began shutting off, he closed his organic eye as well. He was ready for whatever he would have to face...

"...do your worst... Deity Novagod." Metal Sonic uttered, the moment he fell asleep.

Little did he know, that the following morning, this mundane existence would come to an end...

* * *

><p><em><strong>And you guys know where that takes off from :D<strong>_


End file.
